


Grizzly Spirit

by DHKroeger18



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-11
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-11 23:54:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 24,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1179449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DHKroeger18/pseuds/DHKroeger18
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A high school fic on the USWNT and CanWNT. When new student Tobin Heath moves all the way from Basking Ridge, NJ to Boise, ID, she has to gain new friends and make her mark in her new town. However, along the way she runs into some struggles that will change her life forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

Basking Ridge. The town I’ve grown up in, now disappearing as my dad drives my family to La Guardia Airport to fly to our new home, Boise. I sigh as my childhood home disappears and at the same time my social life. Leaving Basking Ridge means leaving my school, my club teams, my church, and my friends. I look next to me at my younger brother, Jeffery, who is bouncing off the walls in excitement. He’s been bragging about how he can finally get some really scenic photos. Behind me, my sisters Perry and Katie are engaged in a romantic foreign film. I slip on my Beats and watch the scenery outside the window. Watching my childhood disappear right before my eyes is overwhelming, so I close my eyes and sleep all the way to the airport. We get to the airport early in the morning and it’s already chaotic, yet again we are right outside of New York City. People are honking their horns at other cars and attempting to get out of the airport alive. My family and I head inside and check in, get through security, and finally we get to our gate. I start watching the planes take off and land, knowing in an hour I’ll be taking off from the East to the West.  
“Tobin?” I look up to see my mother looking down at me. Concern and worry are flashing in her eyes. “Honey, I know you’re upset, but you know that we can always come visit.” I nod and resume my previous activity.  
“All passengers on flight 1720 to Boise please line up to board.” I stand up and get my boarding pass from my dad. As the flight attendant scans our boarding passes I take one last glance around, knowing it will be a long time till I see this place again. We get on the plane and I get stuck next to Perry, who is trying to convince me to watch Glee with her. I shake my head and open up my Bible instead. I read as we take off, so I won’t have to be reminded of what is being left behind. Half way through the flight, I decide to take out my laptop and watch a movie. I debate for a while on what movie, but in the end I pick The Dark Knight Rises. Everyone knows I have a passion for superheroes but Batman is my favorite out of all. I finish the movie just as we are told to turn off all electronics for landing. I look out the window and see literally nothing but barren land. Oh joy…  
“Isn’t it so cool?!” Jeffery asks. He’s so excited so I don’t burst his bubble, but instead nod in agreement. The plane lands and we get off the flight and head to the baggage claim. I claim my bag and the rest of the family claims theirs.  
“Until our cars and furniture get here, we will rent a car and stay in a hotel. We’ll be there for at most a week.” My dad tells us as we jump on a bus to rent a car. My dad rents an SUV, so my brother and sisters and I all pile in the back, while our mom and dad in the front. We drive to the La Quinta Inn & Suites and get our room number/room assignments. Perry, Katie, and I are sharing a room, while mom, dad, and Jeffery share another. “Tomorrow, you four start school. Perry, Katie, and Tobin you three will be attending Rocky Mountain High School and Jeffery you will be attending Lewis and Clark Middle School. So, get a good night’s sleep because it’s going to be an early morning.” With that said my dad left my sisters and I in our room. I decide to let my sisters sleep on the two beds while I take the pull out couch bed. I pray to God before I go to bed and think to myself that tomorrow will be a good day.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin's 1st Day!!!

My alarm blares, waking me up from my sleepless slumber. I glance at my phone and see that it’s 6:30 am. I groan as I drag myself to the bathroom to get a shower and do my morning routine. After about thirty minutes I emerge from the bathroom fully clothed and “ready” for my first day of school. My sisters barge past me, grumbling how I take too long. I chuckle to myself and exit my hotel room. I walk into my parent’s room and find them getting themselves, plus Jeffery ready.  
“Tobin, good you’re awake. Would you mind taking Jeffery down to get breakfast?” My mom asks as she applies some make-up. I nod and motion Jeffery to follow me. We walk down in silence, mostly due to us both being tired. After both of us ate we wait in the lobby for our parents and sisters. Ten minutes roll by and the rest of our family finally enters the lobby.  
“Okay, so we are going to drop off Jeffery first and then we’ll drop of you three okay? Your mother will pick you guys up after school.” Our dad says as we pile in the SUV. We drop Jeffery off at Lewis and Clark Middle School and head to Rocky Mountain High where my sisters and I will spend 8 hours of our lives. We arrive at the high school and I instantly take in the environment. The school looked pretty new and it wasn’t a bad size campus. The students were hanging around either outside of the school or entering the school. “You girls have fun!” I exit the car and start walking towards the main entrance. My sisters decide to go make friends with a group of girls. I on the other hand enter the school and attempt to find my way to the main office.   
“Hey! Are you lost?” I turn around to see a very freckled girl standing behind me with a smile that would make anyone want to be her friend. I nod and look at her. “So you going to tell me where you’re heading?”  
“Oh, I’m looking for the main office.” I say gripping my backpack. She points behind me and I turn around to see the main office. “Oh…well thanks for your help…”  
“Kelley, my names Kelley.” Kelley says shaking my hand.  
“I’m Tobin. Well I better get going.” I say as I enter the office. Kelley follows me as I get my schedule for the first semester. I look over it and notice I have all AP classes. I groan and mentally face palm myself for deciding on AP courses.   
“Oh hey we have all the same classes!” Kelley exclaims dragging me away from the office. “So Tobin, where did you move from?”  
“I came from Jersey.” I simply reply.  
“An east coaster. Nice! So do you play any sports or do any fun activities?”   
“I played soccer when I was little, but now I do more academic clubs instead. Do you do any sports or activities?”  
“I play for the varsity soccer team!” Kelley states grinning from ear to ear. I quirk an eyebrow but shrug.   
“Aren’t you a freshman? I thought freshman weren’t allowed on the varsity team…” I question.  
“Well I’m an exception! My friend’s Alex and Sydney are also exceptions. Oh, and my girlfriend Christen.” Kelley says. “You don’t have anything against gays do you?” I shake my head and grin at her.  
“Dude, I have absolutely no problem.” I say. “So, what’s our first class Kelley?”  
“Well since you asked, our first class is Calculus with the seniors! Just a heads up, half the seniors in our class are on the soccer team and are absolutely intimidating.” I nod and follow Kelley as we walk to calculus. When we get to our classroom she drags me to a table in the middle of the room. Our teacher walks in a minute later just as the bell rings and looks at me with a funny expression.  
“You must be Miss Heath. I’m Mr. Oliver.” Mr. Oliver says as he introduces himself. I nod and tell him he can call me Tobin. He takes the rest of the attendance and starts lecturing.   
“Sorry we’re late!” I turn to the voice and see three girls standing in the doorway. All of them are tall and intimidating, just as Kelley said.  
“Miss Solo, Miss Wambach, and Miss Sinclair, this is your 3rd tardy this week.” Mr. Oliver states folding his arms over his chest.   
“We know, but coach called us in for an emergency meeting.” One of them says sitting down at the table next to us. The other two follow suit and start taking notes.  
“Are they on the team?” I ask Kelley. She nods and glances over at them.   
“So if you haven’t noticed our teacher calls us by our last names. Miss Solo aka Hope is our goalie and she’s the one with the Seattle Sounders shirt on.” I glance at Hope and take in her appearance. Just like Kelley had said, Hope was in a Seattle Sounders shirt. She had a pair of black skinny jeans on with green and blue Nikes hugging her feet. She has her brunette hair pulled up in a high ponytail and her blue eyes are so blue they’re scary. “The girl in the Canadian hockey jersey is Christine aka Miss Sinclair. She’s one of the forwards for our team.” I look at Christine and sure enough she’s sporting a Canadian hockey jersey. She’s wearing a pair of white sweat pants and black Nikes. She has her mostly brown, yet blonde hair at shoulder length. “And lastly Miss Wambach aka Abby is wearing the plaid button down. She’s our star forward.” I look at Abby and notice her red and blue plaid button down. She’s wearing black skater shorts and a pair of black Nike flip flops. Her brunette hair is cut past her ears and her eyes are a sky blue. “They look scary, but they’re all big softies.”  
“Right.” I say looking over at Christine, Hope, and Abby. As I do, Abby looks in our direction. Her eyes meet mine and instantly butterflies start fluttering in my tummy.


	3. Part 3

Calculus flew bye and next thing I knew Kelley and I were at lunch with her friends. There was Sydney Leroux, Kristie Mewis, Alex Morgan, and Kelley’s girlfriend, Christen Press. Sydney’s originally from Canada, but her parent’s moved here about two years ago. She’s a forward for the varsity team and everyone calls her Syd the kid. Kristie is Sydney’s girlfriend. She doesn’t play soccer for the school, but she does play on a club team. Alex is from California, but moved here in second grade and instantly became friends with Kelley. She’s also a forward for the varsity team. She also plays volleyball and runs track for the school. Finally Christen. She’s a nice girl and Kelley’s very lucky to have her. She’s also a forward just like Alex and Sydney.  
“So Tobin, are you gonna play any sports this year?” Alex asks me as she steals one of my fries. I smack her on the hand as I shake my head.  
“I’m focusing more on my academics. Maybe when junior or senior year roll around.” I reply taking a bite out of my salad. “And Morgan. Stop stealing my fries!” Alex just laughs and looks behind Kelley.  
“Here come the seniors.” She says dreamily. All of look as Hope, Abby, and Christine walk in. There’s a few others, but I’m sure I’ll hear about them soon enough. Hope catches my eye and nudges Abby. Both of them look and start walking our way. I grip the table as they get closer.  
“What’s up freshys?!” Hope says sitting next to Alex. Alex looks like a tomato that’s about to explode. “So who’s the new girl?” I frown at that, while Hope just smirks.  
“This is Tobin. She’s from Jersey and we are trying to convince her to play sports this year. She wants to just focus on academics though.” Kelley says. I smack Kelley on the arm and glare at her. “It’s true! Ow! Stop smacking me.”  
“Tobin? Interesting name.” Abby says taking a seat next to me. I grip the table tighter as my knuckles start to turn white. “So we haven’t been introduced properly. I’m Abby, that’s Hope and you saw Christine earlier. We sat next to you and Kelley in calculus.” All I do is nod.  
“I remember.” I say quietly. What has gotten into me? I’m never this way around people, especially girls. “You walked in late.” Abby chuckles at that and slings an arm over my shoulder.  
“So Tobin, how you liking Boise?” Hope asks glancing over at Alex. “Hey Baby Horse, if turn anymore red you might explode.”   
“Um…It’s ok…haven’t really gotten to know Boise yet.” I say as I finally loosen my grip on the table. “We literally just got here yesterday.”  
“Ah so you haven’t gotten to settle down and unpack the new place yet. Well we can help you if you like. Right guys?” Abby states not moving her arm. Everyone nods and mumbles in agreement.   
“Well, our stuff isn’t even in Boise yet. We are staying in a hotel for the week. But, I’m sure my family wouldn’t mind some help next week.” I say hoping that maybe they’ll agree. “If not its fine and thanks for the offer.”  
“Dude, you aren’t getting rid of us that easily! Besides, we need to see how awesome the real Tobin is.” Sydney says stealing one of my fries. I smack her hand, while everyone else just laughs.   
“Okay, so remind me never to get fries anymore because there aren’t any left for me…” I grumble picking at my salad. “So, when does the season kick off?”  
“We’re still in the middle of tryouts. You should come and keep us company.” Abby recommends. I smile and nod.  
“Wait wait wait! Tobin didn’t you say you used to play soccer? Why don’t you tryout?” Kelley asks giving me puppy eyes. “We could use more players.”  
“You played soccer?’ “You should totally tryout!” “Why didn’t you mention this earlier?” These were just some questions and statements thrown in my direction.  
“Guys, I already told you I’m focusing on academics this year. Besides, I haven’t played soccer in forever.” I say as the bell rings signaling our last class of the day. “Time for Biology. Kelley you coming. See you guys later.” Kelley and I walk to biology, while everyone else heads in different directions.  
“So, you going to come to practice today?’ Kelley asks hopefully. I smile and nod. Kelley squeals and drags me the rest of the way to biology. We get inside and sit at a lab table with two others.  
“Yo O’Hara! Who’s your friend?” The blonde girl asks. “I’m Amy and this is my friend Lauren.”  
“I’m Tobin. It’s nice to meet you guys.” I say. “So what grade are you guys in?”  
“We’re juniors!” Lauren replies. “So, Kelley how’d you get Tobin to be your friend?” Kelley gasps at Lauren and places a hand on her chest.  
“I’m offended Cheney! And, just because I’m a little weird doesn’t mean I can’t make friends. Tobin was lost this morning so I helped her out. Now we are besties! She’ll be at practice today. I’m still trying to convince her to try out but it’s not working.” Kelley says looking at our test tubes. “So what silly experiment are we doing today?”  
“Just looking at what’s in the test tubes, but under the microscope!” Amy says a little too enthusiastically. We all stare at her with raised eye brows. “So I like science, sue me.”  
“Okay. A-Rod you are being sued for liking science.” Lauren says, pretending to handcuff Amy.  
“Why’d you call her A-Rod?” I ask looking at the three of them.  
“Oh my last name is Rodriguez. So I’m the girl A-Rod!” Amy says. “We call Lauren, Chen, and Kelley, Officer KO. So what’s a good name for you hmmm? Oh! How about Toby!!!” I shake my head vigorously.  
“Oh Toby I love it!” Kelley says giving me a hug. Great.


	4. Part 4

Chapter 4: Time flew by and next thing I knew school was done for the day. I head to the pitch with Kelley, A-Rod, and Lauren while we chat about the upcoming season. Lauren wants to bring home a state championship, while A-Rod just wants to have a good season. Kelley on the other hand is still trying to convince me to try out.  
“Kelley for the last time, no.” I say chuckling at her frown. “It’s an academic year, not a sports year.”  
“LAME!!!” A-Rod shouts sticking her tongue out. “I bet Tobin is just to chicken to try out.”  
“Yeah she is. Only focusing on academics. That’s a lame excuse.” Lauren says glancing at A-Rod. I shake my head before looking at my three new friends.  
“It’s not lame. I want to get into a really good college when I’m done with high school thank you very much.” I reply hip checking Kelley into the wall. “That’s for you continuously poking me.” Lauren and A-Rod laugh and drag Kelley the rest of the way. We finally reach the pitch and I can see why A-Rod wants a good season. I look at Kelley and then back at the field.  
“Okay so we aren’t that good. But I think if we beat all the schools in Meridian this year, we can have a good season.” Kelley says putting on her cleats. “But that would be a miracle. See you after practice Toby!” With that Kelley runs to the rest of the team. A-Rod and Lauren follow why I go up and sit on the bleachers. I watch as they start warming up. People are tripping over the ball, messing up the drills, etc. I pull out my history book and start doing my homework. I try to write a paragraph on King Henry VIII but my mind isn’t focusing. I drag my attention to the field and sigh. I walk over to the sidelines and pick up an unused ball. While everyone is still practicing I decide to play around with the ball. I dribble it up and down the sidelines and practice some juggling.   
“So Toby can play?” I look to see Abby looking at me with a grin. “You said you don’t play, yet here you are playing.”  
“I couldn’t focus on my homework.” I sigh stopping the ball. “So what’s your record?”  
“It’s pretty bad. Our coach has sort of given up on us and he’s ready to retire. Our assistant coaches however are awesome. They are trying to tell Coach that we need a new tactic but he won’t listen.” Abby says taking a sip of her water. “I hope he retires because if he does, we can get our team back.” I chuckle at this and sit on the grass. Abby follows suit and we sit in comfortable silence. “You know you should really try out. You’ve got skill and potential. You don’t need to focus on academics just yet. Save that for when you’re a junior or senior.”  
“I don’t know. They last time I played soccer I got pretty injured. I haven’t been able to actually step foot on a pitch since. I played soccer at my old middle school and we were in the championship game. I went to nutmeg a defender and our legs tangled. Broke my leg and fractured my hand. I decided I didn’t like to get hurt and put up the cleats and uniform.” I say looking at Kelley being a goof. I watch as the team continues to attempt to do drills. Abby shakes her head and looks at me.  
“We suck don’t we?” I can hear the seriousness in her voice. I nod and look at the ground.   
“Just a little. You guys aren’t clicking together.”  
“Blame the coach. He thinks that Christine and I are a perfect duo, but man whenever Alex and I are together it’s dynamite.” With that said, Abby takes off to finish practice. I glance over at the coach who looks like he’s about to explode. He blows the whistle and signals the end of practice. He talks to them before stalking off the field. The looks on the teams face shows looks of shock and hurt. Kelley walks over and sits next to me.  
“So what did your coach say?” I ask trying to start a conversation.  
“Well he said that we suck, that our team is useless, and that he’s quitting because he doesn’t want to coach a team that can’t win.” Kelley replies. I look over at Abby who looks frustrated yet relieved.   
“So are the assistant coaches going to take over?”  
“Yeah Pia and Tom will co-coach till the principal decides on a head coach. At least now we’ll get better. Pia and Tom are awesome coaches and know what they are talking about. They never got a say though when it came down to our old coach. So enough about practice, do you want to come hang with the team this weekend? We’re going Wahooz and Roaring Springs Water Park for a start of school celebration.”  
“Sure. I just need to make sure it’s okay with my parents.” I reply. “Speaking of which, I need to go. My mom is probably wondering why I’m not at the car.”  
“Okay. Bye Tobin!” Kelley exclaims. The rest of the team says bye as I head to the front of the school. I see our rental with my mom, my sisters, and my brother all inside.  
“There you are. I started to get worried.” My mom says as I climb in the back.  
“Sorry got caught up with friends.” I reply buckling up.  
“Well that’s good. I’m glad you’re making friends.” We pull away from the school and start to head to our hotel for the rest of the week.  
“Oh hey mom? My friends invited me to hang out with them this weekend is that okay?” I ask.  
“Well it’s alright with me and I’m sure your dad won’t mind. You just need to let us know where you are and what you’re doing.” I smile and lean my head on the window. Maybe this move won’t be that bad.


	5. Part 5

Chapter 5: (Time Lapse: Weekend) Saturday came and mom had dropped me off at Wahooz not too long ago. She needed to run errands so she dropped me off early. So I decide on buying my ticket for both parks and hit up the arcade. After playing what seems like a million games, I decide on exchanging my tickets for a prize. I glance at all the prizes and decide on a bouncy ball, some candy, and a rubber band gun. I look at my phone and notice the time, 10:30. I sigh and go out to the outdoor attractions. I play a round of mini golf by myself, getting a couple of hole in ones. I return my putter and notice Abby wandering. I shout her name and she looks in my direction and she smiles jogging over to me.  
“Toby!” She exclaims picking me up into a bear hug. “Dude, I thought I was the only one here but I’m not.”  
“I got here about an hour ago.” I reply with a shrug. “Kelley never told me a time and I don’t have anyone’s numbers.” With that said Abby snatches my phone and puts her number in. I look at it and laugh at her name she put in. “Toby’s favorite forward really?” Abby laughs and pulls me in for another hug.  
“Yup! So the rest of the gang won’t be here till about 11:30 so you want to go play laser tag or race go carts?” Abby asks pulling me in no known direction. I think about it and glance at the go cart line.  
“Go carts.” I say running towards the line. Abby follows closely behind as we get into two different go carts. “You’re going down Wambach.”  
“Whatever you say Heath.” Abby says putting on her restraints. “Want to make this more interesting? If you win I buy you lunch today but if I win you buy me lunch and you are my buddy for all the waterslides.”  
“Hey you get two things that’s no far.” I state. “But you are so on. Loser buys lunch AND gets their choice of partner for the waterslides…” The light turns green and one by one go carts drive onto the track. I get up to second and Abby’s in fourth. I laugh as she tries to catch up to me, but a little kid keeps blocking all her attempts. I manage to get into first place and end up getting first at the end. I step out of my go cart laughing because Abby’s grumbling about rude children and having to get money to buy me lunch and not being my partner. “A bet’s a bet Wambach.”  
“Yeah, well if it wasn’t for that little brat you would be buying me lunch and you’d be stuck with me all day.” Abby grumbles.  
“I’m stuck with you anyways and I pick you as my partner. But I still expect you to buy me lunch.”   
“Well at least one good thing comes out of that bet.” Abby and I walk inside and sit down at a bench. “Fifteen more minutes till everyone shows up. You want to hit up a quick game of laser tag?” I nod in response and grin.  
“No bets on this game.” I state as we get our laser guns and our target armor. Abby pouts but agrees. We end up on the same team and decide to strategize. Abby goes right and I go left, she goes up while I stay on the bottom floor. I shoot 6 people and then end up getting shot. I reload my gun and make my way upstairs to help Abby she’s getting competitive with this one guy who’s hiding behind one barricade while Abby hides behind another. The guy doesn’t see me so I take that opportunity to shoot him and I do. He groans and walks downstairs to reload his gun. As he does this everyone’s guns cut off and an announcer announces that our team won. Abby and I cheer and hug as we place our guns and armor back on their hooks.   
“Dude that guy was so mad when you shot him.” Abby says high fiving me. I nod and laugh.  
“His face was priceless. You should’ve seen the ones I shot on the main floor. They were all angry little middle schoolers.” I laugh. Abby laughs with me as we walk out of the laser tag room. When we get out we notice the rest of our group looking around.  
“Kelley!” I say jumping on her back. She screams and tries to pry me off.   
“Tobin don’t ever do that again.” She scowls at me. She looks over my shoulder and notices Abby. “Hey Wambach!”  
“O’Hara.” Abby responds grinning. “So who’s ready for some fun?!” Everyone shouts yeah and we all head next door to Roaring Springs Water Park. Time to get our tans on.


	6. Part 6

Chapter 6: (Abby’s POV) At the beginning of the week, it started like any school week, other than the fact that it was finally senior year. Soccer try-outs were starting and classes had resumed. Walking into AP Calculus the other day changed everything. There was this new girl, Tobin. She had beautiful brown hair, sun kissed tan skin, and a smile so contagious it would light up a room. I had to get to know her. Tobin made me feel things that I had never felt before and it honestly scared me. It still does. Jumping forward to today, the gang decided we do a hang out/school bash day. I drove to Wahooz and Roaring Springs before 11 and decided that I would chill and hit up mini golf, laser tag, and the go carts since I was the only one here. Of course my plans sort of came to halt when I saw Tobin walking away from one of the mini golf courses. We both greeted each other and I gave her my number since she didn’t have anyone’s numbers. We rode go carts together, played laser tag, and even made a bet…which I unfortunately lost, but I still get a good deal out of my lost. Now the whole gang has showed up and we enter Roaring Springs pumped and ready to have fun. Everyone gets into pairs and Tobin and I pair up. Hope looks at me with curiosity but I just wave her off. Tobin, Alex, Hope, and I decide to hit up Vipers Vortex first. We get a double donut tube so that we can stay with our pairs. Alex gets in front of Hope and they speed down laughing and screaming the entire time. Tobin and I’s turn comes up and since I’m taller than Tobin I get the back. Tobin sits in front of me and looks back.  
“We are going to have so much fun!” Tobin exclaims, giving me a huge smile. I smile back and nod. We start to go down the slide and we’re both screaming and laughing the entire time. Once we start spinning to determine our fate Tobin decides to start splashing water at me. I laugh and splash her back as we slide backwards down the final slide. Hope and Alex are cheering at us and giving us high fives. We go to Thunder Falls next where we meet up with Kelley and Christen. All six of us get into the tube and rush down the gigantic slide. I end up flipping out of the tube as soon as we hit the pool of water. And of course once I rise up everyone is laughing at me. I smirk and start plotting my revenge in my head.  
“Just you guys wait. The unexpected will happen.” I say simply walking out of the pool. I can hear them all murmuring behind me about how they’re so “scared.” I continue walking when I feel someone jump on my back and someone grab my legs. I look at my back to see Tobin grinning at me and I look down at my legs seeing Alex smiling up at me.  
“Abby can you take us to get Dippin’ Dots?” Alex asks. I shake my head no and her smile falters.   
“But we’ve been so good. Please?” Tobin looks at me with puppy dog eyes and her pouty lips. I sigh knowing I can’t say no to Tobin and even though I said no to Alex, I know I would’ve caved eventually.  
“Fine but you have to share.” I reply. They both jump up and start running to the Dippin’ Dots cart.  
“You are so whipped.” I look at Hope smirking at me. Kelley and Christen have disappeared so that just leaves Hope and I since the two children ran off.  
“So are you. I know you like a certain Alex Morgan.” I state. “Dude it’s crazy. Tobin’s been here a week and I just can’t stop thinking about her. She’s kind, funny, beautiful, charming, sexy, hot…”  
“Whoa, slow down there tiger. I don’t need a full rant of reasons you like Tobin.” Hope says. “The children are getting anxious.” I look over to the cart and notice Tobin and Alex motioning for us to come over. Hope and I make our way over there and smile at them.   
“I want rainbow Dippin’ Dots.” Tobin says jumping up and down like a child.  
“I want chocolate Dippin’ Dots.” Alex says gripping Hopes shoulders. I internally laugh at Hope and make whip motions with my hands. She flicks me off and pays for Alex’s Dippin’ Dots. I pay for Tobin’s and all four of us make our way to the wave pool. We see the rest of the gang there and decide to swim, but first we ate our Dippin’ Dots. As the day comes to an end, I realize that Hope is right, I am whipped and it’s all because of Miss Tobin Heath.


	7. Part 7

Chapter 7: (Tobin’s POV) Yesterday was so much fun! I got to hang out with my new friends at a water park and a fun park all in one day. Plus Dippin’ Dots as a snack thanks to Abby and Hope. It couldn’t have gotten any better. After our day came to an end, my mom picked me up and drove us back to the hotel. Today we move into our new house so right now we are loading the rental with our suitcases. Jeffery, Katie, Perry, and I jump into the back and buckle up as our parents get in and start driving to our new home. On the drive there Jeffery brags about his photography club and all of his new friends. Katie says she’s going to try out for cheerleading and Perry says she’s going out for volleyball. Everyone looks at me waiting for an answer. I sigh and look at them seriously.  
“I’m going to try out for soccer…” I mumble looking out of the window. I hear everyone take in a breath at what had just come out of my mouth.  
“Are you sure you want to do that?” It’s my dad asking me this. I just nod and give a small smile.  
“All of my new friends are on the soccer team and they want me to join. I’m not falling under peer pressure I promise, but one of my friends saw me messing around with the ball so they told me I should try out.” I simply state as we pull up into our driveway. I look at the new house. It’s cute and homey, which is always a good thing. A nice average sized front yard with a cute little walkway leading up to the front door and porch. I sigh and jump out of the car as the moving truck pulls up.   
“So you four go kill each other for your rooms while we start to unpack.” Our mom says giving Perry the keys. We all run into the house and search for our new rooms. Perry picked a room that faced the front of the house and had a walk in closet. Katie picked the room next to Perry which also had a walk in closet. Jeffery picked a room across the hall from our older sisters. That left the den like room closest to our parents. I didn’t have much of a view but I had two walk in closets plus my own bathroom so I was content. I place my suitcase in the middle of the room and run out to help mom and dad. I grab some boxes that are on the drive way. I glance around taking in my surroundings. It’s a friendly neighborhood. There are kids playing basketball in the driveways, skateboarding on the sidewalks, throwing footballs and baseballs around in the front yards. There are also kids kicking soccer balls in the street. I smile and start walking back towards the house.  
“Tobin?!” I whip around coming face to face with Alex.  
“Hey Lex!” I say adjusting the box in my arms. “I didn’t tell you or anyone on the team that I lived here…”  
“I know! You live next door to me silly!” Alex shrieks while jumping up and down. I flinch at her shriek and smile.  
“Okay miss stalker. Since you know where I live grab some boxes. “I simply say smirking at her gaping mouth. “Hey you decided to come over. The least I can do is put you to work. Oh wait that’s Hope’s job.” I get smacked on the back of the head for that comment.  
“Touché. Now let’s get the famous Tobin Heath moved in.” She grabs a box off of the truck and follows me into the house. We continue to bring boxes into the house and place them in their respective places. “Let’s set up your room!”  
“But I’m too lazy to set it up right now. Let’s go kick a ball around or go skateboarding.” I reply falling onto my mattress. “Besides we have plenty of time to set it up. Since you live next door and everything.”  
“Don’t make me call Abby. She’ll get you up and moving.” I glare at Alex for that comment while she just smirks. “That’s for the comment about Hope earlier.”  
“Fine we’ll unpack.” I groan as I get off my bed and start unpacking boxes. “I have too much stuff…”  
“This is too much? This is like 1/5 of my closet.” Alex states judging my clothes. “Seriously Tobin? You have an Arsenal jersey? Barcelona is where it’s at.” I gasp at her hostility towards Arsenal. This pretty much continues throughout the rest of the time we are unpacking but I don’t mind. My phone starts buzzing as soon as we unpack the last box. I glance at the screen and see that Abby had sent me a text. I turn bright red and try to hide my phone from Alex.  
“Did a certain forward send you a message?” I glare at Alex while she just smiles at me. “Dude, you turned beat red. Obviously she did or else you wouldn’t be trying to hide your phone.”  
“Fine and for your information, yes she did. She was asking if I needed help unpacking today.” I reply fidgeting with my phone. I look at Alex for an answer and she holds out her hand. I hand her my phone and she starts typing away. After she’s done she puts it on my dresser and throws a pillow at my face. “What was that for?”  
“I’ve got to teach you how to talk to Abby that’s what. She totally likes you and you totally like her. Oh, by the way I gave her your address. Most likely she’ll come over and bring Hope and Kelley and Christen with her…Oh my goodness she’ll most likely bring Hope…I’ve got to change into something more acceptable. I can’t let Hope see me looking like a lazy bum. That’s such a major turn off.” While Alex continues to rant I flop down on my bed and look around. Alex and I did a good job setting up my room. All of my Arsenal posters and surfing posters are hung up. My flat screen and Xbox are standing perfectly on my TV stand. My games and DVD’s are lined up on the shelves next to the stand. All of my clothes are placed in their respective drawers or hung in the closet. My book shelf and desk are piled with knick knacks, books and my laptop. I’ve got pictures of my friends, family, and I placed randomly around the room.   
“Alex, breath.” I finally stop Alex from her rant and make her look at me. “Hope likes you for you. So what if you look like a bum today? It’s the weekend so it’s ok.” A knock on my door sounds throughout my room and I walk over to open it. My mom is standing on the other side smiling.  
“Oh I see you have a friend over. Well now you have some more friends over.” I look behind her and see Abby, Hope, Christen, and Kelley standing there. “Are you finished unpacking?” I nod and open my door wider to let everyone come in. “Don’t have too much fun.” With that said my mom walks away to go continue unpacking somewhere else in the house.


	8. Part 8

Chapter 8: After my mom left everyone starts nagging at Alex and I about not texting them earlier. Both of us look at each other and mentally face palm ourselves. As they continue to rant on and on about us not texting them I flip on my Xbox and start playing Fifa 2013. Alex joins me and together we play an Arsenal vs. Barcelona match. We were so absorbed that we didn’t notice the rest of the gang had decided to show up and were watching us be very competitive. I end up winning that game and do a little victory dance in my spot.  
“Are you two done yet?” I turn around to see everyone laying on my bed or sitting on the floor behind Alex and I. I shake my head and start up another game. This time Alex is the Seattle Sounders, while I’m the Portland Timbers.   
“Hey I want to play!” Kelley says grabbing the controller from my hands. She starts to destroy Alex and Alex is not happy. I’m laughing at Alex’s frustration and Kelley’s facial expressions each time she does something “cool.”  
“Okay you win! Somebody else play this child.” Alex walks over and lies down next to Hope. Christen takes Alex’s controller and starts competing against her girlfriend. I look back behind me and notice there are some people I don’t know. I look at Abby with a confused face and she motions me to come over to her. I plop down next to her and grin.  
“So are you going to tell me who everyone else is? Letting random strangers in my room is not a very good thing miss Wambach.” I state pushing Abby over so I can lie on my bed. She just laughs at me and pulls me in close to her. I feel my face flush as I feel her body heat against mine.  
“So you already know Hope, Kelley, Alex, Christen, Sydney, Kristie, Lauren, A-Rod, and you’ve met Christine. Well we’ve got Christie, who is the captain of our team and a defender, Ali, a defender, and Ashlyn, a goalie. They are together and very affectionate. Amy or as we call her LeP, is a defender, Megan aka Pinoe, is a midfielder. Then we’ve got the Heathers or as we call them HAO and Mittsy. HAO is a midfielder and Mittsy is a defender. You with me so far?” I nod as Abby continues the list. “We’ve got Jill and Nicole, who are also goalies. We call Nicole, Barnie. Then you’ve got Rachel and Becky, who are both defenders. You can call Rachel, Buehler, and Becky, Brunn. Shannon or better known as Boxxy is a midfielder along with Carli aka Carlos or Princess. There’s also Erin, who’s another goalie, Sophie, who is a midfielder, and Diana, who is a forward. So this is pretty much the team.” I look around at everyone and give a small smile. All of them either smiled or grinned.  
“So I take it you’re a big Arsenal fan.” I look over at Pinoe and nod. “Nice. I prefer Manchester United, but Arsenals cool too.”  
“See somebody who thinks Arsenal is cool.” I look at Alex while I say this. She just glares and snuggles into Hope. I quirk my eyebrow at Alex’s actions but simply shrug it off. I’ll just talk to her later. “So I have a mini announcement.” Everyone looks at me even Kelley and Christen who were distracted by the Xbox. “I decided to try out for the team.” It stays quiet for a couple of seconds before everyone is jumping on me and cheering. “Okay, okay, I get it you’re excited can you guys please get off of me?” They all scramble to get off of me, some falling on the floor in process.   
“TOBY!!! I told you you would try out!” Kelley exclaims grinning at me.  
“Yeah yeah yeah. You told me so. I get it.” I respond grabbing my Xbox controller. I turn off the Fifa game and flip over to Netflix. I browse through the movies and stop on “The Lion King” and grin.   
“We are not watching a Disney movie.” Hope states trying to grab my controller. I click on the movie and hide my controller. Kelley squeals and gets comfy. Everyone else groans and argues that we should be watching a proper movie. As the movie progresses, Abby decides to move so that her arm is slung over my shoulder and my head in the crook of her neck. Kelley and I start singing along to the movie and soon we get the entire team to join in. Once the movie ends everyone starts to head home, except for Abby. Abby and I continue to lay on my bed in comfortable silence.  
“I’m glad you’re trying out.” I glance over at Abby who’s looking down at me. I smile and nod.  
“Me too…I’m a little worried but I guess that’s the way every sport is.” I sigh and look up at Abby. She furrows her eyebrows and sticks out her tongue.  
“Well I think you shouldn’t be. You’re going to do awesome Tobin.” At this time both of us are staring intently at one another. Slowly, both of us start to move in, anxious to feel one on the other. Unfortunately a knock on my door interrupts the moment. Abby and I stare awkwardly at each other as my sister Perry walks in.  
“Hey dinners ready. Mom said all of your friends need to go.” She says while judging Abby. Abby shifts under my sisters gaze and tells her she’ll see me at school tomorrow. She gives me a hug and then walks herself out. I groan as I fall on my bed thinking about what could’ve happened. ‘Way to go Perry’ I think to myself as I walk out to the kitchen and sit down for family dinner.


	9. Part 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it's been forever but now that school is over I plan on having more updates and finishing this story.

Chapter 9: Dinner with the family is full of laughter and conversation. All six of us are enjoying the new house. Perry and Katie talk about how they are excited to have their own rooms. Jeffery continues on his photography rant from earlier. Mom and dad talk to us about their jobs and fun places to go sightseeing in Boise. I sit back and enjoy listening to everyone. Perry glances at me and narrows her eyes.   
“So Tobin, who was that chick that left last?” I glare at Perry while she just stares at me with a serious expression. My parents and other two siblings look at me, waiting for an answer. I sigh and take note to kill Perry later.  
“That chick is Abby. One of my new friends from school.” I reply thinking of ways to get my revenge.  
“You two seem a little close, but she looks a lot older. What grade did you say she was in?” I’m really going to kill Perry now.  
“She’s a senior. Hope, Christie, Ashlyn, Christine, HAO, Mittsy, Boxxy, and Princess are also seniors. Erin, Sophie, Lauren, A-Rod, LeP, Barnie, and Jill are juniors. Ali, Buehler, Brunn, Diana, and Pinoe are sophomores. Alex, Kelley, Sydney, Kristie, and Christen are freshmen like myself.”  
“Who is HAO, Mittsy, Boxxy, Princess, A-Rod, LeP, Buehler, Brunn, Barnie, and Pinoe?” My mother asks looking at me like I had grown two heads.  
“HAO is Heather O’Reilly, Mittsy is Heather Mitts, Boxxy is Shannon Boxx, Princess is Carli Lloyd, A-Rod is Amy Rodriguez, LeP is Amy LePeilbet, Buehler is Rachel Buehler, Brunn is Becky Sauerbrunn, Barnie is Nicole Barhart, and Pinoe is Megan Rapinoe. Are we done with the questioning?” I ask slightly more annoyed than I was earlier.  
“Perry, you said Tobin was close to Abby right?” Katie asks grinning at me. I shake my head at her because I know what she’s thinking. Katie is the only one in my family that knows I was questioning my sexuality back in Basking Ridge.   
“Yeah. When I went to get Tobin, both of them were really red and looked like they had been kicked around as if they were puppies.” Perry says taking a bite out of her burger. My mom and dad look at me with puzzling facial expressions. My dad and mom look at each other and nod.  
“Katie, Perry, and Jeffrey. Will you three please go to your rooms? Your mother and I would like to talk to Tobin alone.” My dad says, his voice firm. The three of them nod and leave the dinner table. I start to shake a little at what’s going to happen next. I look at my parents who are looking back at me.  
“What do you want to talk about?” I ask starting to fidget with the fingers.  
“Tobin…do you like Abby in more than a friend way?” My mom gets straight to the point doesn’t she? I feel tears fighting to pour out of my eyes as I try to say no, but instead nod in confirmation. My dad looks at me, his face staying neutral while my mom puts her face in her hands. “So I’m guessing we’re going to have to talk about the importance of being safe and set some ground rules.” My mouth drops as I realize what my mom is saying.  
“Wait! You’re okay with this?”  
“Tobin, we’ve known you were crushing on girls before you did.” My dad says giving me an ‘are-you-serious’ look. “I want to meet Abby OFFICIALLY though.”  
“Sweet heart don’t forget about ground rules. Your door is to be open whenever you and Abby are here. Abby can’t be over when you’re by yourself. No sex aloud in this house. Abby can be here from when you get out of school, till at latest 9 o’clock. Oh, and she must come over for dinner on Wednesday night this week.” My mom finishes talking and I just sit there shocked. They’ve known the whole time I liked girls and never told me?  
“So what you’re saying is that I’m aloud to date a girl?” I ask trying to wrap my head around everything.  
“Yes it’s fine. Tobin we love you for YOU. If you like girls then so be it. We know where you stand with your faith and that’s what matters. I was being serious about meeting Abby officially though.” My dad says cleaning up his plate. “Jeffery, Katie, and Perry you three can come back out and finish eating.” My siblings come out and gather around the table.  
“So when do I get to meet your girlfriend?” Katie asks me as she finishes her food.  
“We aren’t dating…at least I don’t think we are…nope definitely just friends.” I reply downing my water.  
“Tobin has a girlfriend?” Jeffery asks looking at us like an explosion happened.   
“I don’t have a girlfriend. I like a girl…that’s a friend…”  
“Girlfriend. She has a girlfriend.” Perry says smirking at me.  
“You’re on my bad list Per so I would watch it.” I say finishing my food. “Can I be excused?” My parents nod and I scurry to my room reliving the conversation that just went down in my head. My parents had pretty much given me permission to go out with a girl, specifically Abby. I pull out phone to text Alex the news, but instead find a text from Abby.  
Abby: Thanks for having the gang over today! Can’t wait to see you on the field tomorrow. You’re special Tobin. Always remember that.   
I smile to myself and place my phone back on my nightstand. I decide that I’ll talk to Abby tomorrow and the rest of the gang too. For now, I’ll just keep the news to myself.


	10. Part 10

Chapter10: Monday morning came and heading to school, I decide that I’ll talk to Kelley and Alex first. I walk into school and sneak up behind Alex, who is putting her books into her back pack.   
“Good morning Lex!” Alex spins around and smacks my arm. I wince at the fact that her slap did hurt, but I don’t let her know.  
“Tobin Heath do not sneak up on me. It is too early to be silly. Besides, don’t you have a certain forward to entertain?” At that remark I blush and look away before Alex can notice. Unfortunately, I’m not quick enough. “Spill!” One word that makes me cringe, but yet excites me.  
“Okay…So, I ended up coming out to my parents last night. They were absolutely fine with it and my dad wants to meet Abby on more official terms because after you left and the rest of the gang Abby stayed behind. We were alone for a bit and I’m pretty sure we almost kissed, but Perry ended up interrupting us. Abby left, Perry brought Abby up at dinner, and everything went from there. Now, Katie and Perry are calling Abby my girlfriend when we don’t even go out.” I finish my rant and look at Alex who looks like she’s still processing everything.  
“You and Abby nearly kissed? And you’re just now telling me?!” I groan. Of course that would be the only thing Alex would hear out of my rant. “Kelley!!! Come here! Tobin has some news to tell you that involves a Miss Abby Wambach!” I hear footsteps rapidly approaching Alex and I.  
“What about Abby?” Kelley asks looking between Alex and I. I glare at Alex and she does the same.  
“Tell her or I’ll tell her.” Alex states. I run a hand through my hair and look over at Kelley but notice the rest of the team walking into the school. I see Abby and smile. We catch each others gazes and wave at one another.  
“Hello! I’m still here! So what’s this news about Abby?” I bring my attention back to Kelley and then back to Abby. I notice Abby talking with friends so I know she won’t hear what I’m about to say.  
“Abby and I nearly kissed last night.” Kelley’s eyes go wide and her jaw drops. Slowly she starts to form a smirk and narrow her eyes.  
“Miss Tobin Heath, nearly kisses star forward Abby Wambach? How intense was it?” Kelley continues to shoot questions at me, my brain trying to process all of them. I look at Alex who is smirking but suddenly turns beat red and waves her limbs like a wild animal.  
“Who nearly kissed who?” Kelley freezes and I intake a breath. I look over to see Abby with a quirked eyebrow and Hope looking very amused with this whole situation.  
“Um…well….um…bye!” With that said Kelley leaves, leaving Alex and I to defend for her and ourselves. We look at each other and then over at the two seniors.  
“Well you know…this person nearly kissed that person…Tobin aren’t you going to be late to calculus? I mean seriously look at the time.” Alex says trying to get us out of this situation.  
“Baby Horse…it’s only 7:25. School doesn’t start till 7:45.” Hope replies smoothly.   
“We were talking about…um…nevermind. Tobin we should go find Kelley.” Alex says grabbing my hand and dragging me away. Abby and Hope watch us as we leave. We find Kelley a few minutes later in our calculus class finishing up some homework.  
“This is where I leave you two ding dongs. Stay out of trouble till lunch.” Alex leaves as I sit down next to Kelley.  
“Did you tell her?”  
“No. Both Alex and I freaked. Hope was messing with Alex’s head pretty much and I just stood there like a statue not really knowing what to do.” I reply pulling out my text book and notepad. We continue to talk about Abby when other students start to enter the classroom. We finish our conversation and start doing the warm up Mr. Oliver puts on the board. Hope, Christine, and Abby walk in right before the tardy bell and take their respective seats next to Kelley and I. I can feel Abby’s gaze on me, but I don’t look over at her. Talking to Abby about everything is going to be a lot harder than I thought.


	11. Part 11

Chapter 11: The school day passed fairly quickly, as now Kelley, Alex, and I are on the pitch stretching for my first soccer practice.  
“Toby!!! It’s time to show everyone your mad skills!” Kelley exclaims, grinning from ear to ear. “Where did Pia and Tom put you?”  
“They are starting me in the midfield…Left middy to be exact.” I respond face planting trying to do a handstand. Alex and Kelley laugh but help me up anyways.  
“Dude I play outside back and Alex plays forward on our awesome left side so we are stuck together!!!” I cringe at Kelley’s shriek and look at Alex who is trying to calm down the child but is failing miserably. I laugh and take a glance over at where Abby and the rest of the seniors are. All of them are involved in multiple games of soccer tennis, which I really want to be involved in. I look over at the juniors and sophomores who are all huddled around A-Rod and Lauren. I quirk my eyebrow as I catch Laurens eye and she just smirks at me. Finally, I look back at my small group of freshmen and start laughing at Syd and Kelley. Both of them are somehow tangled up in one of the nets. Alex and Christen are trying to get them untangled, but both Kelley and Sydney are flailing around like monkeys.  
“O’Hara and Leroux, get out of the net! You’re going to end up messing up my goal!” I turn around to find Hope storming towards them. Both of them are trying to get out as quickly as possible, with Kelley falling into Christen and Sydney landing on top of Alex.  
“Sorry Hope!” They both say simultaneously, running at me. I continue to laugh as they get closer. When all four of them reach me, Alex smacks me upside the head.  
“OW! Morgan what was that for?!” I ask still laughing. She smacks me on my arms this time.  
“For not helping me get these children down.” She replies. Sydney and Kelley feign shock at being called children but in the end laugh along with me.  
“Alright ladies gather around!” Every player heads over to where Coach Pia and Coach Tom are standing. “So if you all haven’t noticed, we have a new player today. Miss Tobin Heath is from Basking Ridge, New Jersey and we decided to place her as a left middy. Also, our first game is on Halloween. That means we are hosting Trunk-or-Treat this year!” Everyone hoots and hollers at that. I, on the other hand, am completely confused. “So we are splitting you guys into two teams for a little scrimmage to start practice today. Team A: Abby, Alex, Pinoe, HAO, Lauren, Boxxy, Kelley, Christie, Mittsy, Buehler, and Hope. Team B: Christine, Sydney, Tobin, Sophie, Diana, Princess, Ali, Brunn, LeP, Christen, and Erin. Alright let’s go out there and try and place you guys where you REALLY need to be. Grizzlies on three.” Coach Pia concludes placing her hand in the middle of the group. One by one all of us start to place our hands over top of each other’s.  
“ONE! TWO! THREE! GRIZZLIES!!!” Everyone shouts and cheers. I head over to my position, which is facing Abby and Alex.  
“You’re going down Toby!” I roll my eyes at Kelley who is doing a little dance.  
“No way O’Hara! I’m going to score on you and make you wish you were on Team B!” I reply looking at Abby while I said this. She just smirks at me and shakes her head. Tom blows the whistle, signaling for us to start. Alex brings the ball down the pitch passing it over to Abby. I smirk at my chance to show off a little and start defending against Abby. We dance on the pitch for a couple of minutes before I finally get the ball and start heading down the opposite direction. I pass to Sophie, who then passes it up to Christine. She looks back at me and sends the ball my way. Pinoe goes to get the ball but I get it seconds before her. I make a long cross to Sydney, who heads it at Hope, but is saved.   
“So close Syd. Nice pass Tobin!” I hear Tom’s encouraging words and sprint down to get the ball. Alex get’s it before me and heads straight for the goal. ‘My goodness Alex is fast’ I think chasing after her. Alex crosses it to Abby who heads it in passing Erin.   
“One to zip Toby!” I look back to find Kelley grinning. A sudden thought comes to my head as I glance over at Christen who is looking a little frustrated.  
“Kelley, aren’t you supposed to support your GIRLFRIENDS team?” I ask laughing at the realization that has hit her. She starts to apologize to Christen but Christen won’t have it. She continues to ignore Kelley. Kelley walks away, muttering how she needs to ask coach to put her and Christen on the same team. I look at Christen who starts to laugh.  
“Playing a little dirty aren’t we Heath?” She asks. I laugh and nod.  
“It’s all in good nature Press.” I reply chasing after the ball. I collect the ball and start heading down the side of the pitch. Abby gets in front of me and tries to steal it, however I have a little something up my sleeve.  
“Meg!” I call out as I nutmeg Abby and continue down the pitch. I make another long cross to Syd who pushes it up to where Hope is. It looks like she’s going to score, however she passes it back towards Princess who strikes the ball, sailing it pass Hope and into the back of the net.   
“Tied O’Hara.” I say nudging Kelley as I sprint back towards my team. She starts ranting about how she’ll get me later. We continue scrimmaging for the rest of practice. Pia blows the final whistle and all of us pretty much fall on the field.   
“Ladies that was an excellent scrimmage!!! We’ll have practice Saturday and next Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. You all go hit the showers and enjoy the rest of the week off.” With that said all of us head to the locker room, more like dragged ourselves to the locker room. I jump in one of the showers and let the cold water hit me. I start to shiver as I scrub to get the sweat off of my body.  
“Do you mind if I join?” I jump looking behind me to find Abby standing in front of me in a towel. I stutter on my words which she laughs at. “Yes or no Toby?”  
“Um…yeah sure.” I reply weakly scooting over to make room for Abby. She shuffles in and yelps at the cold water.  
“Dude, you know these showers produce hot water too right?” I nod and start to explain how a cold shower always calms me for some unknown reason even though by the end of it I’m usually freezing. She brings me into her body, saying that she will keep me warm so that by the end of our shower we I won’t be freezing. Feeling her body against mine sent shivers up my spine and I could feel the heat rising in my face. Abby and I let the water hit our bodies in silence. I take a glance back at her and notice that she has a far away look plastered on her face. I nudge her, making her look down at me. “Yes?”  
“My parents want to meet you Wednesday night for dinner.” I rush out.   
“I can’t Wednesday, however if your parents are up for it, I can come over tonight.” She replies, shutting off the shower. She hands me a towel and wraps a towel around her body.  
“Let me just call my mom first and I’ll let you know.”  
“If she says yes, I’ll just drive us to your house.” I nod and dig threw my bag for my phone. Finding it I dial my mom and start telling her about the shift of plans. She eagerly agrees and says that it’s fine that Abby brings me home. However, we had to be at the house within a half an hour. I got off the phone and told Abby about what my mom had said. We both rush to get dressed and start to head out of the locker room, when a moan stops us. We look at each other and look towards the shower area. Whoever it is starts to get louder and louder till finally they scream out someone’s name. I turn beat red, realizing that I just heard Alex scream out Hopes name. Hopes voice comes out in husky whisper, telling Alex to be quieter. I rush out of the locker room, with Abby hot on my trail. We make it to her Jeep and jump in. We drive towards my house with the radio filling in as background noise.   
“So, that was interesting.” Abby says. “Although, I’m not surprised. Alex and Hope have had the hot’s for each other since the start of pre camp earlier this summer.”  
“You’re not going to let them live this down are you?” I ask looking at Abby, who’s sporting a grin. She shakes her head as she pulls into my driveway.  
“Well, time to meet your parents.” She says looking back at me. “Officially.”


	12. Part 12

Chapter 12 (Abby’s POV): Practice was great today. Actually, this week has just been great. Tobin and I have gotten “closer” in a sense. I’m pretty sure we almost kissed this past weekend. Unfortunately, her sister interrupted us and man did I want to just shove Tobin’s sister out of the room and kiss Tobin right then and there. Earlier today, Hope and I saw that Tobin, Alex, and Kelley were acting funny and they wouldn’t let us know why. Tobin wouldn’t even look at me during school. Did I do something wrong? At practice, all I could do was think of reasons Tobin would be mad or upset at me. I watched as the freshmen were being and acting like the silly little teenagers (nee kids) they are. When we started scrimmaging, Tobin and I were on opposite teams. She’s not a great soccer player; she’s a phenomenal soccer player. She nutmegged me too! After practice I took the risk of asking Tobin if I could shower with her since A) there are a very limited number of showers, and B) I just wanted to be close to her. I know it sound’s really crazy, but I think I love her. She’s only been here a couple of weeks and I can’t stop thinking about her, missing her, etc. Now, I’ve driven both Tobin and I to her house because her parents want to meet me “officially” which sort of scares me. Didn’t they meet me the other day? Oh well. I’ll do anything to get on her parents good side (except kill somebody).  
“You ready?” I look over at Tobin who is looking at me with curiosity written all over her face. I guess I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn’t even realize we were standing in front of her house instead of still sitting in the car. I nod as we walk inside. “Mom, dad, Perry, Katie, Jeffery. I’m home!”   
“Tobin! Honey, how was school? OH! Abby so wonderful to see you again!” I shake Mrs. Heaths hand as she leads Tobin and I to the living room. “Alright girls! Tell me how was school? Anything interesting happen today?” She starts bombarding us with questions that start to make me squirm. I look at Tobin, who looks like she’s ready to pull her hair out.  
“School was excellent, except for that pop quiz we had in calculus today. At practice, Tobin was seriously on fire. She’s absolutely amazing on the field.” I say trying to make myself and Tobin a little more comfortable. Mrs. Heath looks at me and then back at Tobin.  
“Yeah, what Abby said about school and calculus. Um, at practice, Kelley and Sydney were so caught up with being children that they got themselves tangled in one of the nets and Hope about went all kung fu on them. It was pretty funny. I nutmegged Abby.” Tobin says, smirking at the last comment. I groan and grin at her.  
“I let you Toby so don’t get used to it.” I reply, nudging her.  
“Yeah right! You were so shocked that you missed my amazing cross to Syd because you were in complete denial that you got nutmegged by a freshman.” She retorts, laughing when I feign shock.  
“You’re right Toby. I was so shocked and in denial that I didn’t even realize that the rest of practice you couldn’t nutmeg me once again because I always blocked you and even had to carry you off of the pitch for acting like the crazy little teenager that you are.” I see an emotion flicker in Tobin’s eyes but I don’t question it. She pouts at me and her pout makes me feel weak in the knees.  
“Okay, well I guess you two had fun at school today. Dinner will be ready in a little bit, so why don’t you two work on some homework or go play videogames.” With that said Mrs. Heath walks to the kitchen leaving Tobin and I alone in the living room.   
“I guess we can work on our calculus homework.” Tobin says, a hint of sadness in her voice. She starts heading towards her room and I follow.   
“Tobin, are you okay? Did I say something wrong?” I ask. Tobin shakes her head and pulls out her school books.  
“No. No you didn’t. Me and my crazy little teenage self are just over reacting.” She replies, bitterness dripping from her voice.  
“Tobin…to me you are still little, compared to me. I’m old. And, yes you are crazy, especially on the pitch. Tobs, I didn’t mean to insult you or anything a couple of minutes ago. I’m seriously and honestly, super duper sorry.” I say giving Tobin a hug.  
“Mft mft misfhg.” I look at Tobin with a questioning look. Since her face had been buried in the crook of my neck, her words came out sort of in an unknown language. “Is that all I am to you?”  
“What?” I still don’t understand what she’s talking about.  
“A crazy little teenager. Is that all I am to you Abby?” A light bulb goes on in my head and internally smack myself. Of course she would be insulted by my comment, however the last part of her question is throwing me off.  
“Of course you’re more than just a crazy little teenager Tobin. You’re an amazing soccer player, an amazing friend, and you’re funny. Also, you’re…um well you’re…” I can’t even finish my sentence because I know what I want to say, but I don’t know how Tobin would take it. I badly want to tell her that she’s the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen. That she takes my breath away and I can’t stop thinking about her. “Tobin, I think you’re-“  
“Kids dinner!” Seriously?! It’s like the world just doesn’t want me to tell Tobin how I feel.  
“Never mind…I guess we should go eat yeah?” I glance at Tobin, who is looking at the ground.  
“Yeah. Let’s eat.” She walks off, not even looking at me. I have seriously messed up and I haven’t even asked her out yet.


	13. Part 13

Chapter 13 (Abby’s POV): Tobin and I sit down at the dinner table, surrounded by Tobin’s family. Tobin’s dad is to my right and Tobin’s to my left. Both of Tobin’s sisters are sitting across from Tobin and I. Jeffery is on the other side of Tobin and Tobin’s mom is sitting next to Perry.   
“Let’s say grace shall we?” Mr. Heath says holding out his hand for me to grasp during prayer. I grasp his hand and grasp Tobin’s. I give her hand a gentle squeeze which she returns. “Dear lord, we thank you for this day and for all the days to come. We thank you for this wonderful food you are providing to us tonight. We thank you for sacrificing your only son to forgive us and our sins. Thank you for providing us with this new home and new journey that we are about to begin. Would anyone else like to say anything?”  
“Lord, thank you for giving me the opportunity to embrace this new beginning and providing me with the gift of being a photographer.” Jeffery finishes up his part. He looks around, pretty much telling anyone to go ahead and speak.  
“Thank you lord for helping me on this new beginning. Without you, I wouldn’t have made the friends I have now and I definitely wouldn’t have gotten the love of soccer back without you and them. I thank you for this food you provide tonight and thank you for letting my new best friend, Abby, join us tonight. Again, thank you lord.” Tobin finishes her part and looks at her dad. He nods and takes a quick glance at everyone else. They shake their heads. He looks at me and I shift uncomfortably.  
“Um…lord…I never really do this but…um…thank you for this food and um…thank you for my new best friend Tobin, who is awesome by the way…also thank you for the gift you gave me of being a soccer player.” I finish and I feel Tobin give my hand a squeeze.  
“In your holy and precious name, Amen.” Mr. Heath says, ending our prayer session. Mrs. Heath had decided to make a homemade chicken pot pie, with buttermilk biscuits, cheesy scalped potatoes mixed with small bits of ham, and a Caesar salad. All of us pass the food around and gossip with one another. “So kids, how was school?”  
“It was great! Today my photography teacher, Mrs. Bush, made us take pictures of the beautiful rocks surrounding our school. Then, my new friends and I totally dominated in a game of dodgeball during gym. Other than all of that it was a pretty boring day.” Jeffery says shoving a biscuit into his mouth.  
“I met this cute boy at school today! He’s a drummer for the school marching band, and yes I know he sounds geeky but he’s just so cute! And he’s a senior like me!” Katie states. Tobin giggles next to me, while Katie just glares at her.   
“A cheerleader and a band geek? That’s so adorable!” Mrs. Heath says, encouraging Katie to go after the boy.  
“We have our first volleyball competition next weekend.” Perry states, dragging the conversation to her so that everyone would stop embarrassing Katie. “Also, I decided to go to a new church that one of my team mates recommended to me.”   
“So we have fun school photography and a future dodgeball star, a future relationship with a band geek, and a volleyball competition. What about you Tobin and Abby? Any interesting soccer news going on?” Mr. Heath asks us. I stop eating to look over at Tobin, who’s stuffed her face with scalped potatoes. I laugh as she seems completely taken off guard by the question. She swallows her food and looks at her dad.  
“Well, we had a calculus quiz and during practice we did a lot of scrimmages. Before practice Kelley and Sydney somehow got themselves tangled up in one of the nets. Don’t ask me how, because I’m still trying to figure out how they get themselves in weird situations. That’s about it for me.” Tobin says casting a glance my way.   
“Well as Toby said, we had a quiz, and interesting scrimmages. Some of the seniors and I played soccer tennis…my team lost terribly. That’s about it.” I say, laughing at the look Tobin sends my way.   
“Did you call Tobin, Toby?” Perry asks me looking at both Tobin and I. I nod, still laughing at Tobin’s face. She starts to pout and I give her a side hug.   
“It’s okay Toby, I still love you!” I say as she continues to pout. She looks at me and cracks a smile.   
“Okay okay, I guess I can forgive you for calling me Toby…for now.” Tobin says and hugging me back. I know this hug is a confirmation that Tobin forgives me for earlier.  
“Alright you two, stop getting all mushy gushy on us. It’s sickening yet so adorable.” Jeffery says throwing a biscuit at us. Mr. Heath frowns at Jeffery’s action, but gives me a certain look. It’s a look a father gives when his little girl gets her first boyfriend or girlfriend. I look back at him. Could it be that he thinks something will happen between Tobin and I? Now I’m officially lost and confused. Tobin’s laugh snaps me back to reality. I watch as her and Jeffery attempt to stuff their faces. I smile at Tobin and look back at her dad. He nods at me and then continues to eat. I have gotten myself into some interesting shenanigans.


	14. Part 14

Chapter 14: It’s been a couple of weeks now since Abby has come over for dinner. Mom and dad have been asking me to invite her over for dinner again, but I haven’t had the chance. Abby’s been super busy with school and practice that I barely see her other then in Calculus and at practice. I, on the other hand, have been stoked to play our first game. Being that it’s Halloween and it’s our first game seems strangely odd to me. Soccer season usually starts earlier but according to my team mates, our soccer season goes all the way until April. We our playing against Mountain View High School, our rivals. That’s a great way to start out our season. I’m trying to listen to Mrs. Lynch, my World Geography teacher, talk about Australia and New Zealand but my mind is just in another universe.  
“Tobin?” I snap out of my thoughts to look at Alex who is looking at me with a questionable expression. “Tobin, the bell rang like five minutes ago. What’s going on in your little head?” I glare at Alex.  
“The game, that’s what’s going on in my head.” I simply reply walking into the cafeteria. I see the gang sitting at our usual table and plop down next to Kelley.  
“Dude, are you okay?” Kelley asks poking my side. I squirm and slump further into my chair.   
“She’s worried about the game.” Alex says placing a salad in front of me. I thank her and start nibbling on my salad.  
“Freshy’s you guys ready for today?” Hope asks sitting down next to Alex. “Hey baby horse!” Alex frowns at her nickname, while the rest of us laugh.   
“Yeah we’re ready…except for Tobin.” Kelley states grinning at me.  
“Why aren’t you ready Toby?” I whip around to see Abby next to me. When did she even show up? “It’s just the first game. We all say we’re ready but in reality we aren’t.”   
“I don’t know. Maybe the fact that I haven’t played soccer in forever.” I snap. Everyone glances at me and Abby looks offended. “Sorry. I’ve just got a lot on my mind. School’s killing me, soccer’s killing me, my parents want Abby over again for dinner, and I haven’t been feeling good.”  
“Well tell your parent’s to expect me tomorrow night.” Abby says smiling at me. I smile back and groan as realization hits me that I have a biology test next period.   
“A-Rod did you by chance make flash cards for our test?” I ask sweetly. She nods and hands me her set of flash cards. I start to look over the terms and memorize as many of them as I can. My mind starts to drift back to the time Abby and I almost kissed and instantly that’s all I can think of. The room starts to get really hot and blurry. I don’t know what’s happening to me but I need to get some air. I excuse myself from the table and run outside. School. Soccer. My Parents. Abby. Being Sick. Everything is finally building up and I can feel it all starting to crumble down. A hand on my shoulder shakes me and I see Abby looking at me. I can tell she’s worried.   
“Tobin…Everything’s going to be okay. We’ll have fun tonight. You’re going to do great on your test. And you’ll start feeling better soon. Let’s just focus on your test and the game tonight. Oh, and getting candy after the game tonight will be awesome!” Abby says pulling me into a hug. She smiles at me as she leads us back into the cafeteria. The bell rings signaling our last class of the day. Kelley, Lauren, A-Rod, and I make our way to Biology, all of cramming in a last minute study session. We sit down at our seats while our teacher hands out our tests. I focus on the questions and circle the best choices. As soon as the bell rings I rush out of the classroom and to the locker room to get ready for our game. Pia calls me into her office and hands me my Grizzly Jersey. Purple and Black with the number 17 on the back. I grin and walk to my assigned locker and start to get ready. Everyone else starts to file in and get ready.   
“Ladies!” All of us look up to see Pia and Tom standing in front of us. “Tonight starts our season. We are playing our rivals, The Mountain View Mavericks. Also the fact that it’s Halloween means that after the game we will have Trunk or Treat!” We all cheer. “Let’s have a fun game and kick some Maverick butt!” We start hooting and hollering as we rush out of the locker room to line up to enter the field. As we exit, we get told the starting line up. Hope in goal. Christie, Ali, LeP, and Kelley on defense. Sophie, HAO, Megan, and myself in midfield. Abby and Alex on forward. I was surprised that I was in the starting line up but I wasn’t complaining. Our team get’s announced to come on the field. I take a deep breath as the feel of the pitch travels up my body. I can feel my blood flowing through my veins. Its game time.


	15. Part 15

Chapter 15: My teammates and I step onto the pitch, the roar of the crowd ringing in the air. I look around and take in my surroundings. The lights are brightening up the pitch, the pitch is a rich forest green with a grizzly bear in the middle, and the lines are as white as cloud. I look up into the stands and notice the crowd wearing Halloween costumes, even my family. I just grin and start to stretch and get a couple minutes of warm up in before the game starts.  
“We got this,” I whip around to see Abby behind me, stretching her arms as high as she can. I can see fire in her eyes and know that this is time to prove why our soccer team is going to be scary this season. “Just look out for Marta. She’s Mountain Views star player. Also their goalie, Nadine Angerer is a beast.”  
“Thanks. Scouting the competition now huh?” I say grinning at Abby. She grins back and shrugs.  
“I’ve been playing against them since middle school. I know them by now.” She simply replies. “Just nutmeg everyone and you’ll be fine.” I laugh as I bend over to stretch to my toes. She laughs along with me and makes silly faces.  
“You’re a dork!” I state giving her a light push. She dramatically falls and whines that she’s in pain. I giggle and attempt to help her up. Doesn’t quite work because next thing I know I end up right on top of her. My breath hitches at how close Abby and I really are. Abby’s breathing is staggered as she looks anywhere but my eyes. I swiftly get off of Abby and shift back and forth awkwardly while Abby get’s back up and brushes the dirt off of her. “Sorry about landing on top of you…”  
“You can land on top of me anytime.” Abby quickly throws her hand to her mouth, her face reddening at the realization of what she had just said. I can feel the heat rising to my face as I look at Abby. “I’m sorry Tobin. You weren’t supposed to hear that and…I’m sorry.”  
“It’s okay Abby. No harm done.” I say softly. “I’m going to go work on some technical skills.” I walk away quickly, Abby’s words replaying in my head. I groan as I kick a soccer ball across the field. It hits one of the opponent’s players and internally face palm. The player looks right at me and starts to stalk over in my direction. I start to apologize, but she pushes me down.  
“You think kicking a ball at me will help save your little suck ass team? Well think again sweetie.” She pushes me one more time before walking off. I shake as she walks away. Did I seriously just make an enemy? I didn’t mean to hit her, I was just angry with myself…and confused about my feelings toward a certain forward.  
“Dude why did you hit Marta?” I jump as I see Pinoe show up beside me.  
“That’s Marta?” I ask. “I didn’t mean to hit her…”  
“Well, I don’t think she thinks that because she looks like she’s going to kill you.” Pinoe and I look over at Marta to see her smirking at me as she cracks her knuckles. I gulp and look at Pinoe.  
“It was an accident…I was just confused and angry and took out my emotions on a soccer ball.” I quietly say. Pinoe pats my shoulder and walks away. I sigh and trudge to the bench. The first game and I’ve already made an enemy. The whistle blows indicating the start of the game. Pia and Tom give us a pep talk before sending the starting line up onto the pitch. I walk on, along with Kelley and Alex each of us giving each other high fives before going in our separate directions. I get into my position lining up in front of Kelley and behind Alex. The ref blows the whistle as Abby passes to Alex. Alex then sends the ball back my way. I start taking it up the pitch and send a pass to Sophie. Sophie then passes it to HAO, who then sends a cross up to Abby. It reaches Abby’s head but Nadine saves it. If looks could kill, I’m pretty sure all of us would be six feet under. Nadine has this intense game face as she kicks the ball towards her forwards and midfield. I rush to get back down the pitch. One of Mountain Views players retrieves the ball and heads toward Hope. Before the player can even get to Hope, Christie takes the ball. She passes the ball up to Pinoe. Pinoe crosses it over to me and I start taking it back up the pitch. I see Alex open and send her a cross. It’s like Alex is a mind reader because she gets the ball and sends it towards the goal. Nadine jumps, but isn’t fast enough as the ball hits the back of the net. I scream and run to Alex. She’s in complete shock as the team jumps on her to celebrate her goal. I look and see Marta yelling at Nadine. Both of them are in each other’s faces when they decide to look in my direction. The glares that I get from them makes me turn around and pay attention to my teammates.  
“Incredible pass Tobs!” Alex says giving me a hug as we walk back to continue playing our game. The game continues and it becomes a battle. Marta is making it difficult not only for me, but for the rest of my team to even get a goal. Nadine is being a beast in goal. Marta gets a goal in, with halftime ending in a tie. The second half of the game is similar to the first, staying at a tie for almost the entire ninety minutes. Sophie gets the ball from Marta (somehow) and pretty much kicks it with all of her might right to Abby who heads it into the goal. The game ends and we celebrate at our first win in forever. Not only is it our first win, but a win against our major rivals! We shake hands with the other team before we go to really celebrate. Alex, Kelley, and I start to jog off of the pitch to go shower and change so we can go trunk r treating.  
“WE WON!” Kelley exclaims as we rush into the locker room to grab the first showers. I jump in my shower, letting the cold water cascade down my body. I start to scrub the sweat away and get the knots out of my hair. Just as I’m about to get out of the shower, two arms wrap around my waist pulling me into the body behind me. I look up to see Abby grinning at me. I laugh and turn around to hug her properly.  
“Have I told you how much of a creeper you are?” I ask her, giggling at her shocked expression.  
“I am far from a creeper, thank you very much.” She states wetting her hair.  
“You just walk into my shower, while I’m showering.”  
“I had to come give you a hug and congratulate you on an awesome first game.”  
“Uh huh. That’s what they all say.” Abby bursts into fits of giggles, shaking her hair at me. I laugh as the water from her hair hits me. “EW, your sweat infested water from your hair has infected my body.”  
“It’s not sweat anymore. It’s just water you big baby!” She says as she starts tickling me. I start to giggle and try to escape from her “awesome tickling skills,” as Abby says.  
“Okay it’s not sweat.” I say hoping she will stop tickling me. She does and places her hands on my hips. We look at each other as our breathing begins to calm down. I glance down at her lips, both are parted slightly. I let my tongue slide over my bottom lip and look into Abby’s eyes. Their darker than normal, which terrifies, yet intrigues me. I move in as does Abby, both of us meeting in the middle. FINALLY! The fireworks happen and man are they awesome! I sling my arms around Abby’s neck as Abby pulls me in closer to her. Her lips feel perfect against mine. She pulls away and I whine, while pouting. She smirks and gives me a quick peck on the lips. We stand there, just holding one another.  
“Hi.” I simply say, letting out a small giggle. Abby laughs and kisses my cheek.  
“Hi.” She replies. We stare at each other, both lost in one another. I can see Abby’s gears turning in her head as she stares at me. “Tobin…this is probably not the most romantic slash best place to ask this, but would you like…to maybe go on a date with me…I mean if you don’t wan-.” I interrupt her by giving her a kiss.  
“Yes…I would love to go on a date with you.” I say, shutting off the shower. Abby grabs my towel and her towel as we get out of the shower. We both get dressed, occasionally sneaking little glances at one another. We both head out to go trunk r treating, but before we even get out of the door, Abby pulls me into one more kiss.  
“Let’s go celebrate our win tonight!” I laugh, understanding the hidden meaning behind her statement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I end it here or continue? Let me know your thoughts people please and thank you!


	16. Part 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little late and a little short, but I'm working on chapter 17 and chapter 18 at the moment. I forgot that my summer class started this week so I've had a ton of homework.

Chapter 16: Abby and I walk hand in hand down to the faculty parking lot where our families and friends had their cars set up, decorated for Halloween. Some of them were even dressed up in wicked costumes. I look around and find Kelley and Sydney with pillow cases getting candy from our families. I take in their appearance and notice they are dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2. I laugh at their costumes and tell myself to take a picture of them later. Alex shows up next to them dressed as a female version of The Mad Hatter, which takes me for a loop but you never know with Alex. The rest of our teammates are in normal clothes. Abby grabs a pillow case for her and I from Hope as she walks towards Alex. We watch the two interact and notice Alex getting redder by the second. I raise my eyebrows when Alex looks in my direction. She just flips me off. I look at Abby, who’s sporting a smirk at the scene in front of us.   
“So you ready for your first Trunk or Treat Tobin?” Abby asks me. I simply nod and start heading towards an open trunk filled with candy. Abby follows behind placing her arm around my waist. I smile at the gesture, feeling like I’m in a dreamland. We walk up to Mrs. O’Hara’s car and simultaneously say ‘trunk or treat.’ She laughs at us and tells us to pick out our own candy. I end up picking Skittles and Reese’s, while Abby picks Starbursts and M&M’s. Walking to the next car, Kelley runs up to me screaming ‘This Is Halloween’ from The Nightmare Before Christmas. I laugh and join in making Abby groan.  
“Children! Stop please?! You’re making my ears bleed.” Abby says, putting hands over each of our mouths. We continue to mumble sing as we reach Mr. and Mrs. Morgan’s car.  
“Trunk or Treat?!” Kelley and I shout, breaking into fits of laughter. The Morgan’s laugh with us and hand us candy. We continue walking car to car, trunk to trunk, picking out candy and making everyone laugh.   
“How are you liking trunk or treat so far?” Kelley asks. I look at her, then look back at Abby, who’s pouting.  
“It’s great! I got myself a hot date.” I mumble the last part to myself, but Kelley hears it.  
“WHAT?! Who? Wait…did Abby finally ask you?!” I nod and giggle as Kelley starts to scream and run around like a mad squirrel. “Oh my, I must tell the rest of the team!” Kelley runs off, leaving Abby and I.  
“Alright Mrs. Pouty face, what’s going on in that big ol’head of yours?” I laugh at Abby’s dropped jaw.  
“Well, my hot date got stolen from me and I do not have a big head.” Abby says continuing to pout. I laugh a give her a quick peck.  
“Yes you do Miss Wambach! And I didn’t get stolen. Kelley simply weaved her way into our lives during tonight. Now let’s go! I believe, you owe me some more celebrating tonight!” With that said I run and get more candy, Abby following me close behind yelling that I’m a tease.


	17. Part 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Being a college student and having all of your most time consuming classes takes time away from writing stories.

Chapter 17: (Time Skip: Abby’s POV) It’s been a couple of days since our first soccer game, Trunk or Treat, and since I asked Tobin out. Yep you read that correctly. I FINALLY asked Tobin out. Tobin and I agreed to have our first date tonight and I have absolutely no idea what to plan. Should I take her to a movie? Dinner? I don’t want to take her on a typical date. I want our date to be special. I walk into school with these thoughts still running through my head, not paying attention to where I’m walking.  
“Yo Wambach? What’s up with you?” I look up to see Christine and Christie looking at me with their eyebrows raised. I shrug and continue walking. They get in step with me, not asking me any questions.  
“I don’t know what to do for Tobin and I’s date.” I say breaking the silence. Christine busts out laughing while Christie just bites her lip to stop herself from laughing. “What’s so funny?”  
“Dude, you seriously don’t know what to do for your date?” Christine asks. “Abby. Think about Tobin’s personality. She’s chill and just goes with the flow. She’ll appreciate whatever you decide.”  
“Plus every girl has that secret desire for cheesy romance.” Christie adds. “Why don’t you do something cheesy and something personal?”  
“You’re right! Cheesy and personal all in one. Thanks guys! Hmmm…Oh I know…no wait…oh…no never mind…Can you guys help me?” I ask. Christie and Christine look at me before laughing and nodding. Each of them wrap an arm around my shoulders as we walk to class. Christie says bye to us as she heads to history. Christine and I walk to calculus, bumping into Hope along the way. All three of us walk into calculus, spotting Kelley and Tobin giggling at something on Kelley’s phone. Tobin looks at me and blushes. Kelley looks up at me and then back at Tobin. She nudges Tobin and smirks. Tobin slaps her on the arm repeatedly, Kelley calling child abuse the entire time. We sit down in our respective seats next to the two children looking at them.  
“What’s got you two young ones giggling?” Christine asks, pulling out her binder to start taking notes.  
“Oh nothing. Just this baby photo of Abby we found on Facebook. Look at that adorable smile. And the little dress that you’re in. Abby you’re actually in a dress?!” Kelley and Tobin continue laughing, while I just stare at them with my mouth hanging open. Christine and Hope are also laughing. I snatch Kelley’s phone from her hands and look at the picture that is being viewed. I groan, looking at my baby picture from when I was still in diapers. I give Kelley back her phone slumping down in my seat.  
“Aww Abby, I wasn’t laughing at the fact that you were wearing a dress. I was laughing at the fact that you were so adorable. And…you still are.” I look over to see Tobin blushing while she gives me a smile. I smile back and straighten my posture. Tobin’s view of that photo is the only one that matters (other than my parents). Mr. Oliver finally walks in, telling the class that we have a pop quiz. Everyone groans as he hands out the quiz. I scan my quiz and fill it out, hoping I’ve chosen the right answers. When I finish, I face my quiz face down on my desk. My phone buzzes and I pull it out of my pocket. A text from Tobin. I glance at Tobin to see her with her head down on her desk. I open up her text, curious to why she’s texting me in class.  
Tobin: So when are you going to take me on this date you promised me? :P  
I laugh and respond back, telling her soon. She looks at her phone and types out a reply before shoving her phone back in her coat pocket.  
Tobin: Good, because I’m waiting Ms. Wambach. By the way, you were such an adorable baby. You’ll have to show me more wonderful pictures.  
I shake my head as she laughs at my denial of not wanting to show her my baby pictures. The bell rings, signaling our next class. Mr. Oliver collects our quizzes and tells us that we have 10 pages worth of homework due tomorrow. I face palm, knowing I can’t take Tobin on our date tonight with all of that homework just from calculus. Myself, Kelley, Hope, Christine, and Tobin walk towards everyone’s next class. We stop in front of Tobin’s English class to drop her off. Everyone says good-bye and walk towards their respective classes except for myself. I look at Tobin who is looking at me. She smiles and gives me a kiss on the cheek.  
“See you after class Abby.” Tobin walks into her class, leaving me standing in the hallway to process what had just happened. Yeah Tobin and I have kissed, but that little kiss on the cheek made me fill all sorts of feelings. I start walking to class, continuing to plan my date with Tobin.


	18. Pt. 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! It's been a while. Some personal stuff has gone down, but I finally managed in an update. I'll be working on a couple of more chapters which will take the girls up to Christmas. I'll also be updating The Hope Within Me and I'm hoping to get my new story up before Christmas. Enjoy!
> 
> P.S. Ella Masar makes her debut!

Chapter 18: I rush into class after giving Abby a kiss on the cheek. Honestly, I can’t believe I did that. I sit through English, thinking about mine and Abby’s upcoming date. I wonder what she’s planning? What should I wear? Is it going to be super fancy or super cheesy? I’m so lost in my thoughts that the bell rings indicating that it’s lunch time. I walk to lunch, passing by a couple of my teammates that have B lunch. We stop and talk until they have to go to class. As I make my way to the lunch room, I stop by my locker to switch out my books. I find a note folded up inside my locker and I smile to myself. I open it up seeing Abby’s writing on it. I read the note quietly to myself, blushing at certain parts. I close my locker and turn around bumping into Kelley.  
“Hey Tobin! So you excited about your date?” Kelley asks. I nod and decide to keep my mouth shut letting her know I am in a way freaking out. I feel someone snatch the note from Abby out of my hand and I’m about to yell at them, when I notice it was Hope that took it.  
“Abby’s getting all romantic on you is she?” Hope asks, reading the note. She gags and complains that it’s so sickeningly sweet. Kelley takes the note from her and runs ahead to our table.   
“KO get back here!” I exclaim running after her.   
“Tobin, I just wanted to let you know that you are the most beautiful girl on this entire planet…” I run even faster, horrified that Kelley is reading the note out loud. “You have the brownest eyes, browner than chocolate, brunette hair that gets blown back sexily in the wind. I have to confess that Katy Perry lied to me. Your lips don’t taste like cherries, they taste li- Hey I was reading that!” I snatch the note from Kelley’s hand stuffing it in my pocket.   
“Don’t take things that don’t belong to you KO.” I state. “Now miss pouty face, let’s go get lunch.” Kelley and I walk together, forgetting that Hope is behind us.   
“So, I think I’m going to ask Alex out.” Kelley and I stop dead in our tracks and stare at Hope. Is she being serious? If she is, about time. The sexual tension between those keeps getting worse and worse. “I just don’t know how.”  
“Well if it makes you feel any better, Abby asked Tobin out when they were showering together.” The heat rises to my face as I glare at Kelley. I make a mental note to tell her girlfriend to duct tape Kelley’s mouth. We reach our table, greeting our friends. I notice a new girl at our table and shoot Abby a questioning look.  
“Guys, this is Ella and she’s new here. She also plays soccer.” Christine says, patting Ella’s back.  
“What’s up Ella? I’m Tobin and this idiot over here is Kelley. The scary one is Hope.” Kelley and Hope both start shouting at me, while Ella giggles at their obnoxiousness. All of us take turns asking Ella questions about where she’s from, what she likes to do other than soccer. Just the basic questions. Ella answered all of them. She was in the middle of telling us a funny story, when she stopped dead in the middle and just stared out into space. All of us got confused and looked where Ella’s eye’s had landed. Erin McLeod. My jaw dropped and I looked at Ella, who looked uncomfortable. I gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled back, but then got rigid.  
“What’s up my peeps? Sorry I’m late. Ms. Ganton decided to discuss…Well hello. Who is this beauty I see sitting before me?” Erin smooth talks, grinning at Ella. I shake my head, while Kelley loudly introduces Ella and Erin. After Kelley introduces Ella, lunch continues like it normally would, with the occasional confident Erin and flustered Ella. After lunch, everybody goes to their final classes, before meeting up on the soccer field for soccer practice. Ella shows up and decides she’s just going to observe today. We go through the warm ups Dawn gives us, all the while holding a competition on who can do the drills and warm up the fastest. Kelley surprisingly wins, and shouts at the top of her lungs that she’s the queen bee of soccer. I snort at her comment and go over to Abby, who’s laying on the pitch with her arms covering her eyes. I grin and start to tickle her. She screams and runs a good ten feet before turning around to see that I was the one that had decided to tickle her.  
“Tobin Powell Heath, that wasn’t very nice.” Abby says sulking her way back over to me. I shrug and give her an Eskimo kiss.  
“Is that better Ms. Wambach?” I ask, sliding my arms around her neck.  
“It’d be better if your lips were here.” Abby says, pointing to her lips. I give her a kiss on the lips and smile into the kiss.  
“Cough cough you two love birds break it up.” Hope says pulling Abby back by the collar of her practice jersey. “You guys are so cute, it’s disgusting.”  
“Oh grow a pair Hope and ask Alex out.” Abby says. Hope turns bright red and mumbles that she needs to go practice, quickly walking to the goal.  
“That wasn’t very nice.” I tell Abby, frowning at her. She laughs and gives me a kiss before she pulls away.  
“I know, but someone’s got to help set her thoughts straight…No pun intended.” I laugh at Abby’s joke and run off starting some drills with Kelley and Alex.   
“Abby and Tobin. Sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-“  
“SHUT UP PINOE!!!”  
“Geez. I was only kidding.” Pinoe says, starting to randomly dance to a beat in her head. We all laugh and join Pinoe. This is how practice continues the rest of the session. When practice ends, Abby and I head to my house to work on our crazy math homework. Throughout the drive, Abby glances over at me and smiles. I smile back and I smile even wider when her fingers lace with mine. I’m so happy, that nothing can put a damper on my happiness.


	19. Part 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I realized that I never put the date up so this is the date. Next chapter is thanksgiving break.

Chapter 19: Tonight’s the night. Abby and I are going on our first date! I’m super excited but super nervous. I came home from school, did my homework, and started getting ready for my date. Who knew that getting ready for a date meant that my friends would come over and degrade my wardrobe? I swear, for the past hour I’ve possibly gone through 20 outfits that would be great for a date. Alex, Kelley, and Sydney aren’t having any of it though. Kelley picked my next outfit to try on, which is a cute strapless sun dress. It’s salmon colored on top with a black and white striped bottom. All of my friends agree on this outfit and continue on to the next part: shoes and make-up. A half hour goes by and finally my date look is complete. I thank Kelley, Alex, and Sydney just as the doorbell rings. My dad opens the door and lets Abby in. She’s wearing a pair of dark jeans with a red button up. She looks over at me and I swear her jaw drops. I blush and shift from foot to foot, feeling slightly uncomfortable.  
“Tobin…you look…sexy…I mean gorgeous…and beautiful.” Abby says, pulling flowers from behind her back. “These are for you beautiful.” I take the flowers from her and excuse myself to go put them into a vase. I quickly return as Abby asks me if I’m ready. I nod and take her hand as we walk out the door to her Jeep.  
“Don’t forget to be home by 11 kids.” My dad yells as Abby opens up the door for me.  
“Yes sir.” We say simultaneously and burst into fits of giggles. Abby hops into the drivers side and grins at me.  
“So Ms. Wambach? Are you going to tell me where you are taking me on this fine evening?” I ask, attempting to have some sort of clue for tonight. She shakes her head and laughs at my pout.  
“You’ll love it. I promise.” She says taking hold of my hand as we drive through downtown Boise. After what felt like forever, we pull up into Lucky Peak. I smile and look over at Abby, who is also smiling. We both get out, Abby carrying a picnic basket with her as we make our way to the water. Abby sets a blanket right at the edge of the water and places the basket in the middle. I sit down and Abby follows suit.  
“Tobin, be prepared to be wooed tonight! For tonight’s dinner we have sliced oranges, two bottles of Gatorade, and the main event of course is the famous Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This meal is courtesy of Pinoe.” I bust out laughing and start shaking my head. Abby pouts at me, and I decide to kiss her pout away.  
“I love it. This date hasn’t even really started and I love it. Thank you. Now, can I please have a sandwich?” Abby hand’s me my sandwich and we start eating and talking. We talk about the past couple of weeks and how busy they’ve been, thanksgiving break, the season and the team, and our pasts. I tell Abby all about New Jersey and what my life was like before my family moved to Boise and she told me all about her siblings and how she was originally from New York. After we talk, we pull out a soccer ball and kick around for a bit. We decide to finally pack up and head to our next destination, because apparently we are going to more than one place. Abby starts blasting Maroon 5 as we head back to our next destination. After a bit we pull up to Wahooz and I start bouncing in my seat. I rush out of Abby’s Jeep and pretty much drag her inside. She pays for our passes and we go do our thing. We reminisce on when we first came here and how this is where Abby truly knew she liked me. I aww at her confession as she rants and says she’s a badass.   
“This is absolutely awesome Abby. Best first date!!!” I say as we exit Wahooz, since it’s 10:45 and we needed to be back at 11. She smiles at me and we head back to my house. After a good 10 minutes of driving, we pull up in front of my house. She holds the car door open for me as I step out. We walk up to my front door and stop.  
“Thank you Abby. This was an amazing night and I really enjoyed it.”  
“I’m glad you enjoyed it Ms. Heath. Now I must bid a farewell, but before I do I must do something.” I quirk my eyebrow as she grins at me. She leans down and kisses me, causing me to giggle into the kiss. “Goodnight Tobin.”  
“Goodnight Abby. I’ll see you after thanksgiving break.” She gives me one last kiss before she leaves. I walk inside and see my dad sitting on the couch smiling at me.  
“How did it go?” He asks, already knowing the answer. I just smile brightly and practically skip to my room.


	20. Part 20

Chapter 20: Thanksgiving break came and sadly all of us soccer girls had to say bye to each other for a week. That’s so excruciatingly long in our book. Anyways, my family decided to fly back to Basking Ridge for break. It felt great being back in Jersey, but at the same time it was as if my life from here had vanished and never resurfaced. Also, staying at my cousin’s house is enough for me to rip my hair out. I’m so caught up in my thoughts that I don’t even hear my phone ding. I look down and notice a mass group text making plans for winter break. Thanksgiving break hasn’t even ended I think to myself opening up the message.  
Pinoe: HELLO MY PEEPS!!! So for our beautiful, wonderful, extraordinary winter break coming up shall we hit the slopes Rocky Mountain style?  
Baby Horse: Yes! The powder will be perfect during break.  
LeRoux: I’m in! Let me make sure Kristie is gonna come with us too.  
Squirrel (KO): As long as I can look rocking while I board I’m in.  
Solo: I agree with Alex. The powder will be great! KO you can keep trying to look rocking but we all know who the real rocker is. Hint hint.  
Erin: It’s me! I’m the rocking stud!  
Ella: LOL Erin keep dreaming!  
Erin: Gasp! Ella you’re supposed to support me!  
D-Math: Ella’s right Erin. Keep dreaming!   
Abby: Hey now let’s play nice you young Canadians. WE all know that I’m the one that will be rocking the slopes!  
Ella: I’m not Canadian thank you very much! : P  
Erin: We’re adopting you as a fellow Canadian!  
Hope: Okay McMasar stop flirting with one another. Abby you know that I’ll be the one rocking.  
I decide that after reading a few of the messages to throw in my own opinion.  
Tobin: I’m totally in for hitting the slopes over break. Hope and Abby, as rocking as you both are, Abby more so than Hope, I’LL be the one rocking the slopes thank you very much!  
Abby: BABE!!! You finally joined the conversation. UGH when are you coming home? I miss you.   
Hope: OMG I’M BEING SUCKED INTO A STUPID HIGH SCHOOL LOVE STORY!!! I’m out!  
Alex: Hope, you know you love these stupid high school love stories. ;)  
Pinoe: Yeah Hope!!!  
Hope: Pinoe, you’re treading water now.  
Squirrel: But Pinoe’s only telling the truth HOPEY!!!  
Christen: My beautiful squirrel, I love you! But stop messing with Hope.  
Hope: Thank you Press!!!  
Tobin: Aww but Hopey we LOVE messing with you! LOL! And Abby to answer your question, not until Sunday. It stinks but I’ll be back before you know it.  
I decide to put my phone up at that and attempt to socialize with my cousins. They are very girly girl and stuck up which irritates me to no end. They don’t understand why I play such a “man” sport, as they call soccer.   
“Oh Tobin! You totally have to check out this hot boy that lives down the road. He would be the perfect fit for you. He’s rich, charming, and plays for the football team.” My cousin Genevieve says looking, more like creeping, out the window at this guy walking down the street. I roll my eyes and walk away, grumbling about my cousins being creepers.   
“Tobin isn’t he perfect?” Harriet, my other cousin asks dreamily.  
“He’s ugly.” I deadpan. My cousin’s gasp at my comment and start berating me on my apparent lack of identifying hot boys. “He’s ugly and he’ll always be ugly.” I continue to say, wishing I had stayed in the group conversation with my friends.  
“Well obviously you don’t know how to pick good looking boys, unless you’re a stupid dyke.” I whip my head to glare at my cousin’s.  
“What did you just call me?” I shriek. I know that it wasn’t intentionally thrown at me, but still. Using that word is an insult to not only myself, but to my friends as well.  
“Oh Tobin, stop over reacting. We know you aren’t a dyke. If you were, we’d all know by now and the family would disown you. The Bible tells us how to live our life and being a dyke is definitely not one of them.” Harriet says. “Genevieve can you imagine Tobin being a dyke? Oh man Grandpa would be rolling in his grave!” Genevieve laughs with Harriet while I continue to pale. Finally I can’t stand to hear them talk bad about gay and lesbians.  
“Well guess what? I AM a lesbian. Dyke is a derogatory term.” I state storming out of the room. I can hear my cousins following me down the stairs into the kitchen where my parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles awaited our presence.  
“Mom, dad, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Cindy, Nana, and Papa. Guess what? Tobin’s a dyke!” My cousin’s say simultaneously.   
“I’m sorry? Tobin’s what?” My nana and papa say looking at me. I groan and know that I have a lot of explaining to do.


	21. Part 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys this is just a short chapter but I thought it was intense when I was writing it. I'm back for the summer so more updates to come soon. If you guys have any ideas or want to see something let me know. Love you all!

Chapter 21 (Abby’s POV): Thanksgiving with the Wambach clan is always a party. My siblings and I playing football in the backyard, my dad being a “traitor” and switching teams in the middle of our football games, my mom and grandma cooking our traditional Wambach Thanksgiving feast. Life was good for the Wambach clan. I was glad that I was able to talk to Tobin for a little bit today. I know she was stressing over being at her family’s home in New Jersey. From what I’ve heard, she’s like the black sheep in the family. The one that sticks out and is isolated from the rest. I’d personally would rather her be the black sheep any day. That just means she’s ten times more special in my eyes. Wow Abby that wasn’t cheesy at all. Anyways, my dad is deciding to switch teams again because me and three of my older siblings are losing. Terribly, might I add. I run straight for one of my older brothers with intentions to tackle him, but he fakes me out and scores another touchdown.  
“That’s it! I’m switching teams!” My dad states flipping his mesh jersey inside out. I groan as my other siblings start to brag about having dad on their team. Seriously, can’t my dad just make up his mind and stick to one team?  
“Abby.” I look over to see my mom, her face showing sadness. “You have a phone call. It sounds urgent.” I run into the house and pick up the phone not even bothering to look at the caller ID.  
“Hello?” I ask. I hear sniffling on the other end and I instantly know it’s Tobin. “Babe? Babe, what’s going on? Are you okay? Is your family okay?” She continues to cry, worrying me even more. “Tobin, sweetie, can you talk to me please?”  
“I got outed. My cousins outed me in front of everybody. My grandparents want me out, my aunt and uncle looked at me in disgust, and my cousins. Every derogatory term that they could think of came spewing from their mouths. Thanksgiving is ruined now because of this…I’m flying home tonight. Could you by chance pick me up? My parents and siblings are going to stay here to try and talk some sense into our family.” Tobin continues to cry again, hiccups in between. I sigh and run my hand across my face. I feel so helpless not being there for my girlfriend now.  
“Hey Tobs listen to me. I’m going to pick you up when you get home. Let me know your flight information and I’ll be there. If I could, I’d be flying to New Jersey right now to give your family a piece of my mind. I hate that you are this upset and feeling this way because of their big mouths and hardcore beliefs. Do you want me to stay on the line till you board your flight?” I hear her mumble a yes and start up her tears. I continue to talk to her, saying words of encouragement to help her get through until I actually see her. When I see her, I’ll cuddle with her to no end and just be there for her. We stay on the phone for almost three hours when she tells me her plane is boarding and that she’ll see me when she gets to Boise. We hang up and I receive her flight information soon after. I sigh again and start crying my own tears. I cry for the times that I’ve received harsh words from peers, the obstacles I’m still overcoming, but most of all I’m crying for Tobin. For her pain. A pain I’m fortunate enough to not actually have experienced. I got lucky. I got really lucky because all of my family accepted me for me and they even teased me about bringing home a girlfriend. Well it’s there lucky day because I’m bringing over my girlfriend, even if it is under crappy circumstances. I’m going to make sure Tobin has a better Thanksgiving and fun time until her family comes back from New Jersey.


	22. Part 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys! This chapter took me longer then I wanted it to. Hope you like it and I can't wait till Saturday!!!

Chapter 22 (Different POV’s): I’m currently sitting in the living room, laughing at something my mom said. My sisters laugh along and start to tell the family about school life, since we have family from out of town visiting. I also tell the rest of the family about my friends and school life. I leave out that I recently just got a girlfriend, but I plan to tell everyone before Thanksgiving break is over. The ringing of the doorbell catches my attention and I stand to go answer, but my dad tells me to sit down and enjoy this family time. I sigh and sit back down. My cousins are talking about their friends at school and how they’ve all joined different sport teams back home. I feel someone sit next to me, thinking it’s my dad, but I’m surprised when I see Hope instead.  
“Hey!” I say, giving Hope a big hug. She hugs me back and we stay like that, forgetting that there are other people in the room. “Not that I’m happy to see you, but what are you doing here?”  
“My family wasn’t big into celebrating Thanksgiving this year. Instead, they left me to go to Washington to visit family. I didn’t want to be by myself today, but if I’m intruding I can leave.” Hope says, attempting to get up.  
“Oh no you don’t.” I say grabbing her hand and snuggling into her. “You are staying right here.”   
“Hope, it’s so good to see you sweetie!” My mom says, giving Hope and hug and offering her a plate filled with food. “I haven’t seen you around here in a while! How has school been? Are you enjoying your last year?” Mom continues to bombard Hope with questions as I mentally collect my thoughts.  
“Mom…do you think maybe you could hold off on all of these questions until a different time?” I ask, squeezing Hope’s hand.  
“It’s okay Alex.” Hope says, looking over at me and giving me a small smile. “Schools been good and I’m really enjoying this season. I’m excited but also sad that it’s my last year. I’m not quite ready to leave my friends. I’m going to miss Abby, Kelley, Tobin…I don’t know about Alex. I might miss her.” My mom laughs as my jaw drops. My girlfriend just dissed me in front of my family.  
“Baby that was rude!” I say slapping her arm. Hope just laughs and pulls me closer into her.  
“Baby?!” I look over to see my cousins staring at us and my sisters laughing. Dad looks annoyed but none the less amused. Mom holds out her hand to dad. Dad sighs and hands mom a twenty dollar bill and does the same for Jeni and Jeri.   
“What the…You bet on Hope and I?!” I ask, not amused with the whole situation. Hope on the other hand was smirking and trying to hold back her laughter.  
“Alex! You’ve had a crush on Hope ever since you met her! I’m surprised you didn’t get together sooner!” Jeni replies smirking. “You know this means you have to uphold to an open door policy now?”  
“Oh god!” I feel my face grow hot and start to sink into Hope’s side. My phone vibrates in my pocket and I unlock it to see a text from Abby.  
‘Emergency team meeting at my house in half an hour’ I look over at Hope who’s also looking at her phone.  
“Hey mom. Dad. Abby just texted both of us for an emergency team meeting. We know it’s Thanksgiving, but can we just go and see what this emergency is?” I ask my parents. They both nod and tell us to drive safely. Hope and I jump into her truck and speed off to Abby’s.

After I sent out the mass team text, I start helping my family prepare extra food. I know Tobin probably won’t be hungry but it’ll be best to have food for her and the rest of the team just in case someone is. The doorbell ringing gains my attention as my dad answers the door. Erin, Ella, Sophie, Christine, Diana, and Carm walk in. I’m surprised to see Carm since she was supposed to be studying abroad.  
“My giant I have missed you.” Carm says giving me a hug. I hug her back and smile.  
“You haven’t changed a bit. What are you doing in Meridian? I thought you were up in Canada for school?” Carm just smiles.  
“I’m back for the second semester and my last year so yeah.” Carm says shrugging her shoulders.  
“Alright, now that your reunion is over can you please explain why you called an emergency team meeting.” Christine asks attempting to shoot invisible daggers into my head.  
“Wait for the rest of the team.” I simply reply, as the doorbell once again rings. Syd, Kristie, Kelley, and Christen walk in. They look at me with confused looks on their faces as more of the team starts to show up. Hope and Alex arrive last, Hope glaring at me and Alex calming Hope down.  
“Alright Wambach explain and explain quickly.” Hope snaps at me. I sigh and go to tell the team, but I just end up crying. I don’t cry in front of my team mates. I try to control my tears but I can’t. I’ve cried so much and I still just need to cry. I can feel Tobin’s pain, even when she’s on the other side of the country. I can vaguely hear my team mates asking if I’m alright, but I don’t respond. I cry for a little bit longer, finally regaining my composure. I breathe in and out before looking at my team mates.  
“Okay, so I know I called an emergency team meeting and to me it is and I’m hoping to you guys it is. We all know that Tobin is supposed to be coming back Sunday, but she’s coming back tonight.”  
“That’s great!”  
“I missed Toby!”  
“Hell yeah now we can hit the slopes early!” My team mates are so happy about Tobin’s return that I can’t help but grimace with what I’m about to tell them.  
“Guys! Tobin’s coming back early because she was outed by her family…Her grandparents and uncle and aunt don’t want her around. Her cousins are verbally abusing her. Her mom, dad, and siblings are going to try and talk some sense into the rest of the family, but Tobin is coming back tonight…alone…and…and I’m so angry right now that I want to jump on a plane and put her family in their place, but I can’t because Tobin is super upset and in tears and she’s traveling by herself…” I stop my rant to let more tears fall. My team mates are absolutely silent. Some have tears coming down their face, while others look like they can stab someone. “I called this meeting because I’m picking up Tobin, in about 4 hours and I want to give her the greatest Thanksgiving ever to make up to this shitty one she’s experiencing. I need your guy’s help with all of this. And I know it’s Thanksgiving, but do you guys think your parents will be okay with you helping me for a little bit.”  
“I have a better idea.” All of us look over to Erin who has the biggest smile on her face, but her eyes show pain. “Why don’t we all call up our families and explain the situation to them. Then have all of us and our families create a ginormous feast for all of us and Tobin so that Tobin can have an awesome Thanksgiving where she’s surrounded by people that love and accept her for her.” Everyone starts to nod in agreement and all start shouting ideas and calling their parents. Hope comes to sit next to me and I can clearly see she wants to stab someone.  
“We’re going to give Tobin the greatest Thanksgiving ever Abby. I will tell you, if that ever had happened with Alex earlier I would’ve done what you did and what you are doing.” Hope says, attempting to calm herself down. “No one hurts our family no matter what.” I smile at Hope and she returns it. Pinoe comes charging over at us, grinning from ear to ear.  
“Operation: Tobito is in progress!” I face palm, while everyone else groans.  
“Pinoe, you need to stop watching Once Upon A Time so much!” I grin and laugh because Pinoe really does watch Once Upon A Time way too much. I look at my phone to see that Tobin will be back in three hours. I put my phone back in my pocket and start helping my team mates with our Thanksgiving feast. Pinoe’s right. Operation Tobito is in progress.


	23. Part 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this will lighten the spirits!!! Sorry for slow updates. Summer classes are killer.

Chapter 23: “Flight 2015 to Boise, Idaho is now boarding Zone 2. Again, Flight 2015 to Boise Idaho is now boarding Zone 2.” I sigh as I make way to the ticket lady. I hand her my ticket and she tells me to have a good flight. I nod and make my way down the jet way. The flight attendants greet us passengers as we board the flight. I smile politely and find my seat. I sit down and pull on my head phones. I look out my window to get one last glimpse of New Jersey, at least for a while. I can feel the tears falling down my cheeks as I recall everything that has happened in the past five hours. My cousins outed me, my nana and papa started to berate me about my life choices (my papa even slapped me upside the head with The Bible), my aunt and uncle just looked at me as if I was the plague. To say the least, my day went from okay to absolutely terrible. My phone buzzes to let me know I have a text message. I look at it to see that it’s from Abby. More text messages start to come in from all of my team mates. I cringe. It’s not that I’m not happy that my team mates are being supportive and want to make sure that I’m okay, it’s just that I really don’t want to talk to anyone but Abby at the moment. I scroll down to Abby’s text message and open it so I can read it.  
Baby, I’ll be at the airport to pick you up. Keep your head up till then. You might want to at least send a mass text to let the team know that you are okay, but if not you can send it to me and I can let them know for you. I love you Tobin. You are awesome, amazing, and the best girlfriend on the planet. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. – Abby  
She loves me? I just stare at my phone not knowing what to say. Usually I would argue that saying something that intimate over a text message isn’t as meaningful, but at the moment I really don’t think that. Even though the circumstance isn’t quite ideal, none the less Abby told me she loves me. I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face. The captain comes across the speakers announcing that we are about to take off. I shut my phone down and look out the window as we zoom down the runway. Slowly the plane starts to elevate off of the ground, New Jersey staying in the background. I pull down the window shutter and slip into a restless slumber, anxious to get back to Boise.

Abby’s POV: My team mates and I are running around my house preparing everything for Tobin’s arrival. Our parents and families had started to show up one by one, contributing to Operation Tobito. All of the goalkeepers are helping in the kitchen, preparing all of the food. The defenders are sweeping and dusting the downstairs, while the midfielders are vacuuming and dusting the upstairs. As for us forwards, we are straightening up the outside, adding extra corn hole boards, soccer goals, and more fun outdoor games. I continue to look at my phone, watching the time. Tobin’s plane lands at 7:00 PM and it’s already 5:30 PM. Where did the time go?! I start to move more quickly, urging my team mates to do the same. We finish up outside and run into the house. The rest of the team is finishing up their portions also and we all start an assembly line to set up the food, drinks, plates, cutlery, etc.   
“And we’re done!” Pinoe announces. We all shout with glee and start to high five one another. The doorbell to my house rings, causing everyone to run to the door. I open it to find our coaches and the rest of the staff.  
“We heard there was a team thanksgiving, but I think you guys forgot some people.” Coach Pia says, laughing at our gaping expressions. We all start to apologize profusely, explaining how it was a spur of the moment thing and that we didn’t mean to forget. “It’s okay. Just know that at tomorrows practice, every single one of you will be working off all of the food we eat tonight.” Groans are heard from every direction as our parents and coaching staff laughs at us. I let the coaches and the staff in and check my phone again. 6:30 PM.   
“I’m leaving now!” I grab my keys and wallet and run out the door, jumping into my jeep. I speed out of my neighborhood and try to calm my emotions that are starting to boil over. I can’t let Tobin see me like this, at least not right now. I need to be happy and make sure she has a great time. Twenty minutes goes by and I’m now sitting at the baggage claim, watching out for Tobin. What if she’s crying again? What if she gives me the silent treatment? All of these questions and thoughts start to pour into my mind. I don’t even see Tobin until she is literally standing in front of me. Literally.  
“Zoned out there stud?” She asks, a cheeky grin on her face. I laugh and pull her into a hug, not wanting to let go. I feel her snuggle deep into the hug and let out a sigh. She pulls away and gives me a kiss. I kiss her back and hold her.  
“How was your flight?” I ask as we wait for her suitcase. She shrugs and looks at me. I can see the pain in her eyes and the redness around her eyes doesn’t help. I kiss her again and tighten my hold on her. I vow to never hurt her and if I do I give my team mates personal permission to beat me senselessly. “So, instead of you going back to yours I was wondering if you wanted to just come hang out with me. That way you aren’t by yourself to get lost in your thoughts. My mom and dad already approved.” She looks at me and nods.  
“Yeah. It would be nice to officially meet your family. Wish it was under different circumstances..” Tobin’s voice cracks at the end. My heart starts to break again at hearing her this sad. I calm myself so that Tobin won’t be able to sense how much I want to hurt somebody over the pain Tobin is going through.  
“Well get ready because you are in for a crazy ride babe!” Tobin grabs her suitcase and grabs my hand in her free hand. As we walk out to my jeep, I send off a mass text to let everyone know we are on the way and to hide their cars at least a block away so Tobin won’t suspect anything. I start to drive, still holding Tobin’s hand. We make light conversation on the way back to mine, mainly talking about the upcoming trip to the mountains. I tell her that we are going to be having another date night soon and that she needed to dress up for real this time. She sticks her tongue out at me and explains how it took almost 20 outfits the first time. I laugh as she pouts. I bring her hand up to my lips and kiss her hand. We pull up into my drive way and get out. I grab onto Tobin’s hand again as we approach the front door. Tobin stops me and gives me a kiss.  
“Don’t know how often I’ll be able to do that tonight.” I grin at her and open the door.   
“WELCOME HOME TOBIN!” Tobin stops dead in her tracks, eyes wide at the sight in front of her. I start to panic thinking that maybe this wasn’t a good idea anymore, but the smile forming on Tobin’s face tells me otherwise. Tobin leaves my side to start greeting the rest of the team. I shut the door as my mom approaches me.  
“You did good Abby. You did good.” I groan at my mother as she laughs at me, dragging me over to the team and our families.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have decided to continue with Grizzly Spirit. Might write another Tobin/Abby story here soon, just haven't figured out what to write yet.

Chapter 24:   
Walking into Abby’s house, I was expecting to just meet her family and her and I just chill. I surely wasn’t expecting the entire team and their families to be there welcoming home. I can’t help the smile that forms on my face. To know that my team mates and their families care about me this much makes me feel so much better. I go over to my team mates and start to say hi to all of them and chat with their families. They tell me funny thanksgiving stories from previous years, so now I have leverage on my team mates if I ever need it. Alex and Kelley stick by my sides like glue. The smell of food over takes my senses and I head straight to the food buffet laid out. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until now. I go to scoop some food on my plate when I hear a cough behind me. I turn around to see who I presume is Abby’s mom.  
“Hello.” I say, shying away. “I’m Tobin Heath. I’m…Abby’s girlfriend.” Man does that feel good every time I say that. Abby’s mom just laughs at me and pulls me into a hug.  
“I’ve heard so much about you Tobin. Abby doesn’t shut up about you.”  
“MOM!!!” Abby appears behind me as red as a tomato. I laugh at her and peck her on the cheek.  
“I’m Judy Wambach. Abby told us all what happened earlier and her and the team came up with this great idea to give you an awesome Thanksgiving.” Mrs. Wambach says, gesturing to all of the food and the outdoor activities. I just continue to smile. I never realized how lucky I was until now. I have team mates that really care about me. It’s like having 20 more sisters that I love just as much.  
“This is wonderful! Thank you so much. I actually haven’t eaten today so…” I glance over at the food, my stomach rumbling in approval of where my eyes are set. I give a sheepish smile.  
“Oh good lord. Tobin please eat. There’s plenty to go around. Here try everything.” Mrs. Wambach takes my plate and starts to scoop up everything onto my plate. I quirk an eyebrow at Abby who looks like she might melt where she’s standing. She mouths I’m sorry to me and I just chuckle. I think it’s sweet that Abby’s mom cares about my eating well being.  
“Toby!!! Come play corn hole with us!” I look over to see Alex, Kelley, and Syd waving me over.   
“I need to eat first guys. I’ll play after.” I say taking the plate that Mrs. Wambach hands to me. The plate is literally stacked with food. My eye’s about fall out of their sockets just looking at the amount of food on my plate. “Ummmm…Thank you. It all looks really great.” Man I’m going to regret eating all of this tomorrow. I sit over at the table, quickly praying before I eat. I start to dig into my food, not realizing how hungry I really was. I hear someone snicker and glare up to see Abby watching me.  
“Hungry babe?” She asks, sitting down next to me with a plate of food. I sheepishly nod and slow my roll with the eating. She starts to eat with me and tells me what’s good and what to avoid. Apparently Pinoe made sweet potato casserole that I should be weary of. “Babe! Try the cranberry sauce. It’s famously invented by my great great great grandma.”  
“Famous huh?” I say taking a bite. Oh that’s good! I take another bite and another. Abby just laughs at me and pulls me into her side. She places a kiss on my forehead and puts her head on top of mine.  
“AWWW we have to come up with a shipping name for you guys!!!” Sydney says. All of the team agrees and starts to spew shipping names. I groan and throw my roll at Pinoe who suggests a highly ridiculous name. The coaches and the teams family members laugh at us. “Toby is too simple. Plus it’s Tobin’s nickname.”  
“How about the sickeningly cute couple.” Hope sarcastically remarks, earning a slap in the arm from Alex.  
“Be nice.” Alex says.  
“But baby…” Hope says.  
“Baby?!?! Oh shit Hope and Alex is actually a thing now?!” Pinoe says. Everyone on the team veers their attention to Hope and Alex, allowing for Abby and I to breathe. We lightly laugh at our teams antics.   
“We have one crazy family don’t we?” I ask. Abby nods a kisses my lips.  
“We sure do. And one that cares about you and accepts you for you Tobin.” I place another kiss on Abby’s lips and join in on a shipping name for Hope and Alex. I feel my phone buzz and look down to see it’s my mom.  
Happy Thanksgiving to the most wonderful, outstanding, amazingly silly daughter a mother could ever ask for. I know today wasn’t the best of days, but I want you to know that I love you and so does your dad and your siblings. I hope that you and Abby are having fun and we will see you tomorrow. Coming home early and I promise we will have a redo of Thanksgiving tomorrow night. Be sure to invite Abby and her family. – Mom.  
I smile and feel tears start to roll down my cheeks. I show Abby the text and she squeezes my hand. She shows Judy the text and she tells me that they will definitely be there tomorrow.   
“Tobin!” I see Kelley bounce over to me, a huge grin on her face. “Sorry Abby, but I’m stealing your girlfriend for corn hole now.” Kelley drags me away and Abby just laughs, not attempting to steal me away. Oh Abby and I will have to talk about that for sure.


	25. Part 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, but I'm glad my computer's fixed!!!

Chapter 25:   
After what feels like a million corn hole games (really it was only 5, but when you’re playing with children *cough, Kelley and Syd, cough* it feels like a million), a couple of pick up soccer games and one gigantic football game (that ended up turning into a snowball fight because snow decided to grace us with its presence), the team and everyone decides to call it a night. Judy shows me to the guest room and reminds Abby and myself to keep the doors open. After Judy leaves for bed, Abby and I go into her game room and put on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1 & Pt 2. Halfway through part 1, I feel Abby’s head roll onto my shoulder. I look over and find her asleep. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I quickly snap a photo of Abby and myself, setting it as my home screen. Abby shifts so her arms are wrapped around my waist and her head is snuggling into my shoulder. I let out a content sigh and continue to watch the rest of the film. Soon enough, I feel my eyes drifting shut just as Bellatrix starts to torture Hermione. ‘Such an intense scene.’ I think before my eyes actually drift shut.

“Tobin…Tobin…Tobin!” My eyes shoot open and I look to see Hope and Alex peering down at me. “Getting cozy are ya?” I look behind me to see Abby still snuggled into me. I groan as I realize that Judy could’ve walked in on Abby and I just cuddling and sleeping, even though we are supposed to respect the open doors policy. 

“Slightly.” I whisper, not wanting to wake Abby up. “What are you two doing here?”

“Well we have practice in the next hour so yeah.” Alex says. I groan and roll into Abby. I start to poke her cheek in an attempt to wake her up. Her forehead wrinkles and a frown forms on her face. I silently start to giggle as I continue to poke her cheek. One of her eyes opens and looks at me. I just give her a cheeky smile before placing a kiss on her cheek.

“We have practice in an hour.” I say as I shift to get up.

“Nooooooooo.” Abby groans out, attempting to pull me back down.

“Wambach get your ass up. You and your girlfriend make me want to puke.” Abby glares up at Hope and then looks at Alex, who is scowling at Hope.

“Baby be nice. You know how grouchy you are in the morning.” Alex states.

“Yeah baby.” Abby mimics, smirking at Hope. Hope huffs and thumps Abby on the head. 

“Get up Wambach.” 

“I’m up. I’m up.” I laugh as Abby crawls over me to go to her room. She pauses and gives me a kiss on the lips before heading to her room. I see Alex and Hope looking at me, attempting to hold in their smiles.

“Be nicer to Abby Hopey.” I say, standing up and stretching. I’ve gotta say a couch isn’t that comfortable to sleep on. I walk past my two friends, quickly using the bathroom, before heading downstairs. I walk into the kitchen to find Judy cooking some breakfast.

“Oh Tobin sweetie! Good morning! Here have some eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns, juice, and if there’s anything you would like that isn’t cooked I can whip it up for you.” I smile and say thank you before putting a little of everything onto my plate. Alex and Hope join me with full plates and we start to eat, talking about our practice today and plans to go Black Friday shopping this weekend. Abby comes down in her practice gear and fills up her plate.

“Morning mom! Thanks’ mom.” She says as she starts to stuff food down her mouth. Alex whispers gross, while I just laugh. Abby looks between us and blushes. “Sorry. I’m kind of hungry right now.” I just laugh and give her a kiss. “So practice? Why must our coaches insist we practice the day after Thanksgiving?”

“Because we ate way too much yesterday and we need to stay in shape for our game next week.” Hope deadpans.

“One meal isn’t going to kill us…” I mumble quietly, but unfortunately my team mates heard me.

“Tobin…trust me when I say. One meal might kill you today.” Hope says, her eyes remaining playful. I laugh, even though I can’t help but feel that she might be right.


End file.
